Validation of a new method for automated determination of bone age in Japanese children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Endocrinology
• Radiology
• Medical Imaging Analysis

Background:

• BoneXpert is an automated system for analyzing children's hand radiographs to determine bone age (BA).
• Previous validation was conducted on European children, assessing Tanner-Whitehouse (TW) and Greulich Pyle (GP) standards.
• The need exists to validate BoneXpert's performance specifically within the Japanese pediatric population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the accuracy and precision of BoneXpert's bone age (BA) determination in Japanese children.
• To compare BoneXpert's BA results against an experienced Japanese TW BA rater.
• To assess BoneXpert's precision in yielding consistent BA values on repeated radiographic analysis.

Main Methods:

• Utilized two datasets: 185 radiographs from 22 normal Japanese children and 284 from 22 growth hormone-deficient patients.
• Manual bone age ratings were performed using the TW-Japan system by an experienced rater.
• BoneXpert processed all hand radiographs for automated BA assessment.

Main Results:

• The accuracy of BoneXpert's TW-Japan bone age (BA) determination showed a standard deviation (SD) of 0.72 years.
• The precision error (SD) for a single GP BA determination by BoneXpert was 0.17 years.
• BoneXpert demonstrated comparable performance in Japanese children to that previously observed in Caucasian children.

Conclusions:

• BoneXpert is validated for use in Japanese children, performing accurately and precisely across a wide bone age range.
• The study provides a calibration of BoneXpert to the TW-Japan standard, ensuring reliable skeletal age assessment.
• The automated method shows consistent performance, comparable to established European validations.