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Assessment Tools for Age Determination: Medical and Legal Perspectives

Explore the importance of accurate age assessment in medical interventions, legal matters, and assessing unregistered children. Learn about current practices and challenges in using radiographs to determine age, and the relevance of atlases in modern population studies. Follow a current project comparing results between atlases and populations. Data collection includes examining joint areas for age correspondence and recording any discrepancies for statistical analysis.

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Assessment Tools for Age Determination: Medical and Legal Perspectives

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  1. Age Assessment in the Living Lucina Hackman

  2. Rationale • Medical: Pinpoint timing of medical interventions Understand disease progression Assess efficacy of medical interventions • Legal: Assess age of perpetrator/victim Assess age of asylum seekers

  3. Asylum • UNICEF estimates that around 50 million children are not registered at birth-no record of age. • In the UK in 2007-3,525 unaccompanied children tried to enter the country- 54% resulted in age disputes • Child trafficking (UK) is a growing issue-76% of children trafficked fall into the 14-17 age group (2009)

  4. Current Practices Use of : Psychological assessment External physical assessment (secondary sexual characteristics) Radiographs compare skeletal maturation (ossification centres and epiphyseal fusion times) with chronological maturation (Atlases)

  5. Ossification centres • Matches maturation of various parts of the skeleton with chronological age • Appearance of ossification centres • Changes in shape of ossification centres • Fusion of ossification centres • Use of growth-changes in size of skeletal elements

  6. Challenges • Are the atlases still relevant today? 1. Nutrition-secular changes 2. Population differences • Is any atlas more accurate than another (in relation to each other or in relation to a modern population) • If there is an error-where does it lie and in what direction

  7. Current Project • Access radiographs in Ninewells Hospital (numbers around 600 images for each joint area)-this is currently being undertaken • Access equivalent dataset in New Delhi, India-August 2009 • Compare results • Between Atlases 2. Between populations

  8. Data Collection • Examine each area of joint • Compare how closely each area corresponds to the image shown for that age in the atlas • Record the discrepancy • Subject to statistical analysis

  9. Any Questions?

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