Comparative analysis of bone maturation determined by Grave-Brown method in conventional and digitalized images

Marcia Spinelli CASANOVA, Ana Isabel ORTEGA, Francisco HAITER-NETO, Solange Maria de ALMEIDA

Aim: the purpose of the present study was to compare the skeletal maturation stages estimated using the method of Grave-Brown in conventional and digitalized hand and wrist x-rays. Methods: the sample was composed by 129 hand and wrist radiographs of Brazilian girls, with chronological ages between 84 and 199 months. The radiographs were digitalized and analyzed by five observers. Results and Conclusion: the results showed no statistically significant difference between the skeletal maturation stages estimated in the conventional or the digitalized images by Grave-Brown’s method. The reproducibility of the observers was also verified, the value of Kappa was 0.86 for the conventional images and 0.87 for the digitalized images. Therefore digitalized images are a reliable alternative for skeletal maturation estimation.

Keywords: Bone development. Hand and wrist radiographs. Digital radiography.

Thursday, May 02, 2024 07:34