Accurate Age Determination for Adolescents Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Hand and Wrist with an Artificial Neural Network-Based Approach

This study proposes an accurate method in assessing chronological age of the adolescents using a machine learning approach using MRI images. We also examined the value of MRI with Tanner-Whitehouse 3 (TW3) method in assessing skeletal maturity. Seventy-nine 12–17-year-old healthy Hong Kong Chinese adolescents were recruited. The left hand and wrist region were scanned by a dedicated skeletal MRI scanner. T1-weighted three-dimensional coronal view images for the left hand and wrist region were acquired. Independent maturity indicators such as subject body height, body weight, bone marrow composition intensity quantified by MRI, and TW3 skeletal age were included for artificial neural network (ANN) analysis. Our results indicated that the skeletal age was generally underestimated using TW3 method, and significant difference (p < 0.05) was noted for skeletal age with chronological age for female category and at later stage of adolescence (15 to 17 years old) in both genders. In our proposed machine learning approach, ages determined by ANN method agreed well with chronological age (p > 0.05).The machine learning approach using ANN method was about 10-fold more accurate than the TW3 method using MRI alone. It offers a more objective and accurate solution for prospective chronological maturity assessment for adolescents.