Artificial intelligence model system for bone age assessment of preschool children

Backgroud

Our study aimed to assess the impact of inter- and intra-observer variations when utilizing an artificial intelligence (AI) system for bone age assessment (BAA) of preschool children.

Methods

A retrospective study was conducted involving a total sample of 53 female individuals and 41 male individuals aged 3–6 years in China. Radiographs were assessed by four mid-level radiology reviewers using the TW3 and RUS–CHN methods. Bone age (BA) was analyzed in two separate situations, with/without the assistance of AI. Following a 4-week wash-out period, radiographs were reevaluated in the same manner. Accuracy metrics, the correlation coefficient (ICC)and Bland-Altman plots were employed.

Results

The accuracy of BAA by the reviewers was significantly improved with AI. The results of RMSE and MAE decreased in both methods (p < 0.001). When comparing inter-observer agreement in both methods and intra-observer reproducibility in two interpretations, the ICC results were improved with AI. The ICC values increased in both two interpretations for both methods and exceeded 0.99 with AI.

Conclusion

In the assessment of BA for preschool children, AI was found to be capable of reducing inter-observer variability and enhancing intra-observer reproducibility, which can be considered an important tool for clinical work by radiologists.

Impact

The RUS-CHN method is a special bone age method devised to be suitable for Chinese children.

The preschool stage is a critical phase for children, marked by a high degree of variability that renders BA prediction challenging.

The accuracy of BAA by the reviewers can be significantly improved with the aid of an AI model system.

This study is the first to assess the impact of inter- and intra-observer variations when utilizing an AI model system for BAA of preschool children using both the TW3 and RUS-CHN methods.