Estimating age by assessing the ossification degree of cranial sutures with the aid of Flat-Panel-CT

Estimating age from the skeletons of adults is difficult. The accuracy decreases for old age. Ossification of the neurocranial sutures has been used as an age characteristic since Broca's time (1824-1880). Although the sutures traverse the bone, current approaches only encompass the ecto- and endocranial sutures. Evaluating the cross-section of sutures necessitates the destruction of the neurocranium. In the context of the "Digital Forensic Osteology" project that ran in cooperation with the Virtopsy-Project it emerged that the resolution of conventional MSCT-data sets was not high enough to image sutures. The eXplore Locus Ultra (eLU) Flat-Panel-CT-Scanner from GE was used for these experiments. During autopsy, the skullcap was scanned and then immediately returned to the corpse. To date, the skullcaps of 221 individuals have been scanned. The data sets were reconstructed in 3D. The cross sections of the sutures of 14 segments could be evaluated in the cross-sectional view. Seven stages of ossification were defined and each segment was assessed for these. Several regression formulae for age estimation were developed from the results. This examination method is a suitable means for non-invasively evaluating the ossification degree of cranial sutures in the entire cross-section and for the entire calvarium. An increase in the number of examined individuals in this ongoing project and a look at extreme values will further heighten the conclusiveness of the results.