Data-driven Normative Reference of Pediatric Cranial Bone Development

We present a fully data-driven normative model that represents the age- and sex-specific variability of bone shape, thickness, and density between birth and 10 years of age at every location of the calvaria. Methods: The model was built using a cross-sectional and multi-institutional pediatric computed tomography image dataset with 2068 subjects without cranial pathology (age 0–10 years). We combined principal component analysis and temporal regression to build a statistical model of cranial bone development at every location of the calvaria. We studied the influences of sex on cranial bone growth, and our bone density model allowed quantifying for the first time suture fusion as a continuous temporal process. We evaluated the predictive accuracy of our model using an independent longitudinal image dataset of 51 subjects. Results: Our model achieved temporal predictive errors of 2.98 ± 0.69 mm, 0.27 ± 0.29 mm, and 76.72 ± 91.50 HU in cranial bone shape, thickness, and mineral density changes, respectively. Significant sex differences were found in intracranial volume and bone surface areas (P
Source: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open - Category: Cosmetic Surgery Tags: Craniofacial/Pediatric: Original Article Source Type: research