Measuring the Intercondylar Shelf Angle Using Radiographs: Intra- and Inter-Observer Error Tests of Reliability

: This study presents a test of intra‐ and inter‐observer measurement error rates of the intercondylar shelf angle of the distal femur, as measured on lateral radiographs. This measurement is the central element of a method to determine racial affiliation from the distal femur. Four observers indep...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of forensic sciences Vol. 52; no. 5; pp. 1020 - 1024
Main Authors:	Berg, Gregory E., Ta'ala, Sabrina C., Kontanis, Elias J., Leney, Sardiaa S.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-09-2007 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects:	Analysis of Variance Anthropology Bones Continental Population Groups distal femur Femur - anatomy & histology Femur - diagnostic imaging forensic anthropology Forensic Anthropology - methods Forensic osteology forensic science Humans intercondylar shelf angle Medical errors Observer Variation racial determination Radiography reliability Reproducibility of Results Studies Variance analysis
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Summary:	: This study presents a test of intra‐ and inter‐observer measurement error rates of the intercondylar shelf angle of the distal femur, as measured on lateral radiographs. This measurement is the central element of a method to determine racial affiliation from the distal femur. Four observers independently radiographed a set of 33 complete and partial femora from collections housed at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, Central Identification Laboratory. Each observer then measured the intercondylar shelf angles in each radiograph, following the original method’s guidelines. A supplementary inter‐observer error test was conducted by four additional observers on one set of radiographs. Statistically significant differences were found for both intra‐ and inter‐observer error based on the results of Student’s t‐tests, paired samples t‐tests, and ANOVA analyses. The results of this study indicate that further experimentation should be undertaken in order to develop refined measurement techniques that may help improve standardization and reduce the observer error rates.
Bibliography:	ArticleID:JFO509 istex:BBB32A0B94295D89BE0BA0F8D8FBB0DE7DC546E3 ark:/67375/WNG-4RKZ9QK7-M ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0022-1198 1556-4029
DOI:	10.1111/j.1556-4029.2007.00509.x