ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Objective To explore the value of degree of cranial suture closure in forensic adult age estimation by thin-layer CT scan and establish an adult age estimation model of the Han nationality. Methods Thin-layer CT scan samples of the heads of 220 healthy Sichuan Han adults ï¼110 males, 110 femalesï¼ aged 20 to 70 were collected, of which 20 samples ï¼10 males, 10 femalesï¼ were randomly selected as test samples. The sagittal suture, coronal suture ï¼both left and rightï¼ and lambdoid suture ï¼both left and rightï¼ were respectively and equally divided into 2 segments, and every segment was equally divided into 10 layers and the corresponding multiplanar reformation ï¼MPRï¼ images were selected. The closure of cranial sutures on MPR images was classified into the grades 1-7. The correlations between cranial sutures and age were analyzed to build regression equation for age estimation. Results The degree of closure of sagittal suture, coronal suture ï¼both left and rightï¼ and lambdoid suture ï¼both left and rightï¼ was positively correlated with age. The coefficient of determination ï¼R2ï¼ of regression equation was 0.419 in males, 0.589 in females, and 0.522 in all samples. The results of the verification test showed that the mean absolute error ï¼MAEï¼ was 6.39 years in males, 6.16 years in females, and 6.29 years in all samples. Conclusion There was a higher accuracy in adult age estimation by thin-layer CT scan of cranial sutures. The age of Han nationality adults can be estimated by the degree of cranial sutures closure.
