Modeling skeletal bone development with hidden Markov models
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 14, 2026

Subject-specific Musculoskeletal Model for Studying Bone Strain During Dynamic Motion
Published on: April 10, 2018
Daniela Giordano1, Isaak Kavasidis1, Concetto Spampinato1
1The Department of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy.
Abstract:
This paper presents a tool for automatic assessment of skeletal bone age according to a modified version of the Tanner and Whitehouse (TW2) clinical method. The tool is able to provide an accurate bone age assessment in the range 0-6 years by processing epiphysial/metaphysial ROIs with image-processing techniques, and assigning TW2 stage to each ROI by means of hidden Markov models. The system was evaluated on a set of 360 X-rays (180 for males and 180 for females) achieving a high success rate in bone age evaluation (mean error rate of 0.41±0.33 years comparable to human error) as well as outperforming other effective methods. The paper also describes the graphical user interface of the tool, which is also released, thus to support and speed up clinicians' practices when dealing with bone age assessment.
Related Concept Videos
Carbon Skeletons
Bone Structure
Bone Remodeling
Bone Markings
Articulating Projections
Articulating projections are found where two bones meet to form a joint. These structures are usually found at the ends of bones. The largest articulation is a rounded projection called the head, supported by a narrow neck at the ends of...
Bone Formation by Intramembranous Ossification
The process begins when mesenchymal cells in the embryonic skeleton gather together and differentiate into osteogenic cells, which then develop into...
Bone Formation by Endochondral Ossification

