A comparison of ultrasonic and X-ray methods for imaging the growth plate.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to assess a systematic and scientific method for measuring children's growth development, in which the accuracy of the existing diagnostic method has not yet been concretely examined. The most popular method for diagnosis of children's growth is to analyse the opening degree of the growth plate in each joint by an X-ray image. However, the X-ray method has some disadvantages; it is impossible to measure the diagnosis of growth periodically and repeatedly due to the radiation problem. Hence, this study introduced a profile analysis and the algorithm of analysing the image of the growth plate using the broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) of calcaneus, to verify the possibility of using an alternative ultrasonic method harmless to the human body. The images of the growth plate in the proximal tibiae, phalanges, and calcanei of 269 children (7-16 years old) were obtained using X-ray. The image of the growth plate in the calcanei was also obtained from these children using ultrasound. The results showed that the time of the opening degree of the growth plate in each joint was almost consistent between X-ray and ultrasonic images. Also, the images of the growth plate measured using X-ray and ultrasound showed a high correlation. Therefore, it is expected that the algorithm of ultrasonic profile analysis introduced in this study can replace the existing X-ray method to measure the growth plate correctly.