The forensic age estimation at the distal femur and proximal tibia in 3.0T MR images: restrospective study of applicability of vieth's method in turkish population

Age determination is an important area of interest for forensic medicine due to age-related practices in medicine and law. In this pilot study, it was aimed to create a scale specific to our region with the results obtained by using the staging method proposed by Vieth et al. for the distal femoral and proximal tibial epiphysises. The MRI of 595 patients, aged between 10-30 years, who underwent MRI with 3.0 Tesla (T) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) device by the Department of Radiology of Bursa Uludağ University Medical Faculty were evaluated. 367 of the cases were male and 228 were female. In coronal orientation, images in T1 weighted turbo spin echo (T1-w TSE) and T2 weighted turbo spin echo (T2-w TSE SPAIR) sequences were evaluated within the scope of the study. The evaluation was performed independently by two observers. In males, the minimum age for stage 6 of the distal femoral epiphysis was 20.61 years, in females it was 20.15 years. In males, the minimum age for stage 6 of the proximal tibial epiphysis was 18.91 years, in females, it was 16.8 years. Sex-related differences was statistically significant in most stages for both epiphysis. The interobserver agreement levels for distal femoral epiphysis and proximal tibial epiphysis were good (κ=0.797) and very good (κ=0.81), respectively. The intraobserver agreement levels for both epiphysis were very good (κ>0.80). In conclusion, according to staging method proposed by Vieth et al., the 6th phase of the distal femoral epiphysis can be used in the Turkish population for the determination of majority - completion of the 18th year of life- within the framework of the minimum age concept. We believe that the five staged method defined by Vieth et al. is easy and practical for observers for forensic estimation of age.