Computer-assisted phalangeal analysis in skeletal age assessment.

A computerized approach to the problem of the assessment of skeletal maturity in pediatric radiology is presented. A CR (computed radiography) hand image to be analyzed is first standardized to obtain a left hand, upright, PA view. Then the phalangeal region of interest is defined and thresholded. After the separation of the third finger, the lengths of the distal, middle, and proximal phalanx are measured automatically. Using the standard phalangeal length table, the skeletal age is estimated. The assessed age has been compared to the estimates obtained by a radiologist using the atlas matching method as well as the chronological age.