Swedish Age Assessment Study

Swedish Age Assessment Study -SAAS Study to Deepen the Knowledge of Magnetic Camera Examinations as a Method for Medical Age Assessment

It is important that asylum seekers should have as accurate age assessment as possible and that children's fundamental rights are met by choosing methods based on best available knowledge. The aim is to provide, on the basis of best available knowledge, suggestions for methods of medical age assessment of whether a person is over or under 18 years of age.

The primary issue is to investigate whether five selected growth zones in knee joint, ankle and wrist individually or in combination can better determine the 18-year limit compared with previous research.

Swedish Age Assessment study is conducted with the aim of

• Deepening the knowledge of age-assessment methodology with magnetic camera examinations among born and registered in Sweden aged 14.0 through 21.5 years
• With a magnetic camera, investigate whether five selected growth zones in the knee joint and ankle joint (distal femur, proximal tibia, distal tibia and calcaneus) and distal radius (wrist) individually or in combination can better determine the 18-year limit compared with previous research
• To investigate how gender and growing environment can affect the end of growth zones

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy children / young adults without prior illness (such as asthma, growth hormone treatment, prolonged peroral cortisone treatment, cancer treatment, diabetes, rheumatic disease) that may have affected growth can be included in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children or adolescents with ongoing drug treatment for chronic disease.
• Contraindication against MRI examination
• Pregnancy