Researchers from the Laboratory of Anthropology at the University of Granada have devised a new technique to determine the age of living subjects using chest and dental x-rays.
The study was carried out by Dr. Pedro Manuel Garamendi González and directed by professors Miguel Botella López , and Inmaculada Alemán Aguilera . This is of special interest in the case of alleged illegal minors, since this technique will make it possible to determine the age of an individual by analysing the x-rays of their bones, when used in legal medicine.
For the study, UGR researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis of 123 digital postero-anterior chest x-rays and 742 digital ortopantomographies, using the “Image J” computer programme, which analyzes digital x-rays.
In radiology, what is the maturation rate of specific anatomical bone structures" The research carried out at the UGR aimed at answering this question. “In this particular case we have focused on the hyoid bone, the proximal clavicular epiphysis, the costal cartilage of the first rib, degenerative parameters of clavicle joints, certain abnormalities of the clavicle (conoid tubercle and the floor of the fourth ventricle) and cortical calvicular indicators,” stated Pedro Manuel Garamendi González.
Better than other techniques
The results of the project are of great interest for the legal medical practice, since they show the relative limits of current methods, nonetheless widely used and acknowledged by international study groups, such us the AGFAD (German group on age diagnostics). For instance, the fusion of the proximal epiphysis of the clavicle to diagnose ages of up to 21 years or the fusion of the greater horn of the hyoid to determine ages over 30 years are some of the methods applied by professionals.