Olecranon bone age assessment in puberty using a lateral elbow radiograph and a deep-learning model

To improve pubertal bone age (BA) evaluation by developing a precise and practical elbow BA classification using the olecranon, and a deep-learning AI model. Lateral elbow radiographs taken for BA evaluation in children under 18 years were collected from January 2020 to June 2022, retrospectively. A novel classification and the olecranon BA were established based on the morphological changes in the olecranon ossification process during puberty. The olecranon BA was compared with other elbow and hand BA methods, using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), and a deep-learning AI model was developed. A total of 3508 lateral elbow radiographs (mean age 9.8 ± 1.8 years) were collected. The olecranon BA showed the highest applicability (100