![handle is hein.journals/injlegame120 and id is 1 raw text is: Int J Leg Med (2006) 120: 1-4
DOI 10.1007/s00414-005-0002-9
Andreas Schmeling - Uta Baumann - Sven Schmidt-
Klaus-Dieter Wernecke Walter Reisinger
Reference data for the Thiemann-Nitz method of assessing
skeletal age for the purpose of forensic age estimation
Received: 11 April 2005 / Accepted: 1 June 2005 / Published online: 13 July 2005
© Springer-Verlag 2005
Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the sta-
tistical parameters of deviation in the Thiemann-Nitz meth-
od for use in forensic age diagnostics. To this effect, 402
hand radiograms, originally taken in two large German
cities between 1983 and 2002 for the purpose of diagnosing
trauma, were analyzed. At the time of examination, the pa-
tients were aged between 10 and 18 years. The study pres-
ents the mean, standard deviation, and median, with lower
and upper quartiles, for the skeletal ages of 11.0 through
18.0 years. The simple standard deviations range between
0.2 and 1.2 years. To increase the accuracy of age estimates
and improve the identification of age-relevant develop-
mental disorders in forensic age estimation practice, the
methods for determining skeletal age should always be
combined with a physical and dental examination. In ad-
dition, the expert opinion should pay attention to the issue
of different modernization levels in relevant populations.
Keywords Forensic age estimation - Skeletal age - Hand
ossification
A. Schmeling ( ) U. Baumann - S. Schmidt
Institut fiur Rechtsmedizin,
Charite-Universititsmedizin Berlin,
Hittorfstrasse 18,
14195 Berlin, Germany
e-mail: andreas.schmeling@charite.de
Tel.: --49-30-450525050
Fax: +49-30-450525903
K.-D. Wernecke
Institut fiur Medizinische Biometrie,
Charit-Universitatsmedizin Berlin,
Schumannstrasse 20/21,
10117 Berlin, Germany
W. Reisinger
Institut fir Radiologie,
Charite-Universititsmedizin Berlin,
Schumannstrasse 20/21,
10117 Berlin, Germany
Introduction
Recent years have brought a worldwide increase in cross-
border migration due to a globalized economy, European
integration, and ongoing belligerent conflicts. As a result,
the number of foreigners who cannot provide documen-
tary evidence for their date of birth has increased not only
in Germany, but also in numerous other European coun-
tries. Because of this development, forensic age estima-
tion of live subjects has increasingly become an integral
part of forensic practice. Similarly, forensic age diagnos-
tics now constitute a growing field within legal medicine
[9-11, 16, 18].
Usually, the individuals subjected to forensic age estima-
tion procedures are foreigners without valid identification
documents who are suspected of making false statements
about their age and whose genuine age is of legal rel-
evance. In Germany, the age thresholds relevant for legal
purposes are 14, 16, 18, and 21 years [7]. Similarly, the
legally relevant age limits in numerous other European
countries range from 14 to 18 years of age [3].
To estimate the age of a person as part of crimi-
nal proceedings, the international interdisciplinary Study
Group of Forensic Age Diagnostics (http://www.charite.
de/rechtsmedizin/agfad/index.htm) recommends combin-
ing a physical examination, an X-ray of the hand, a dental
examination which records dentition status and evaluates an
orthopantomogram, and an X-ray or CT scan of the clav-
icles [14]. One of the main criteria used in forensic age
diagnostics is, therefore, the developmental status of the
hand bones.
To evaluate the form and size of individual bone ele-
ments and the degree of ossification of the epiphysial
plates, either a given X-ray image is compared with stan-
dard images of the relevant age and sex (radiographic atlas)
[5, 21] or the degree of maturity or bone age is determined
for selected bones (single bone method) [12, 19, 20].
Various studies have demonstrated that although the
single bone method requires more time, it does not nec-
essarily yield more accurate results [1, 2, 8]. Hence, the](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/injlegame120&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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