Validação de um software para a estimação da idade óssea por meio das vértebras cervicais

Abstract

Aim: The present study aimed to validate a software (Easy Age) to assess skeletal maturation by cervical vertebrae, demonstrating its applicability and reproducibility. Methods: For this, the sample consisted of 500 lateral radiographs of patients of both genders, from 7 to 15 years of age, who were examined by three evaluators, twice for the visual method and twice with the software. To evaluate the inter- and intra-examiner agreement, the Kappa test was applied, which showed a substantial level of agreement for the visual assessment of the cervical vertebrae, while the evaluation of the cervical vertebrae through the software showed a level that presented almost perfect agreement for all evaluators. Friedman’s test was applied to compare the ratings between the 1st and 2nd visual examinations and between the 1st and 2nd examinations using the software, which presented no significant differences. To validate the software, a comparison was performed between the results obtained by the visual method and those obtained by the software, using the Spearman correlation test. Results: The results showed a strong, statistically significant correlation between the measurements from the visual examination and those from the software evaluation. Conclusion: It can therefore be concluded that the software is valid and improved the applicability and reproducibility of the method of estimating skeletal age