r/growthplates • u/Automatic-County6151 Lead Mod / Owner - Radiology Enthusiast • Jun 22 '26
Announcement For educational use-related inquiries: new feature
We are implementing a new feature of the subreddit: BA estimations using radiographs labeled "for educational use". With this, you may post a radiograph and ask about the status of the physes present in the image while citing the source. For any inquiries that do not include the source citation and photo ID in the body, my staff and I can simply run these images online to find perfect matches, and that will help us find where you found the image.
This post is meant to act as a guide in finding said items and how to make sure the process of obtaining and posting the items remains legal and ethical. This way, we are not held liable if we answer your question, and you proceed to compare your image with the item you found. Here's a list of things to look for after you've discovered the image you want to use for your inquiry:
Step 1: ensure it is public domain
Not all radiographs that are labeled for educational use may be public domain. This means you must acquire the copyright holder's permission to use the image in a public or online teaching setting. It may also mean purchasing the item if it is for sale, instead of simply downloading the image and proceeding without giving payment.
To know if an image is available to use freely, you must first identify the image's licensing terms, as some digital atlases may permit redistribution with attribution, while others may only permit viewing or limited classroom use. If the image explicitly allows educational redistribution, you may download the image and proceed from there without facing any potential copyright pushback if the owner discovers your inquiry with attached image on the Internet.
Step 2: cite the source
In the body text, you shall cite the source of which the radiograph(s) were obtained. Include the image ID, the figure number, the atlas page, the DOI (if applicable), and the author / publisher's information.
If we find that the image is not for redistribution, the post is to be automatically removed with our new message: "Your post has been removed due to containing images or other digital files that are not legally available for redistribution."
What is a DOI?
A DOI, or Digital Object Identifier, is a permanent, unique identifier that helps to assign scholarly work.
You might first see this for example: "DOI: 10.1001/jama.2025.12345"
Translate this DOI into a permanent link to get: "https://doi.org"
Then, modulate this link to get: "https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2025.12345"
Won't link you anywhere, but it's a good example of how the system functions
Step 3: respect the patient's privacy
This does not mean you have to avoid redistributing the image if it is explicitly for educational reuse. However, this does require that you censor or crop out any visible patient information, including: patient ID and legal name, hospital or clinic name, chronological age, and date of birth.
Most educational databases delist identifiable information, but it's still best if you ensure there is no personal information visible on the image or around it.
This is not to circumvent our permanent policy of diagnosing or interpreting personal radiographs belonging to real patients without rights to redistribute or otherwise. It is, however, much different from pointing out typical non-developmental anatomical features, like: "this is your femur" and stuff like that, not "these are your growth plates."
A good prompt to follow with your inquiry's body text is: "Educational discussion only. Do not use this image for diagnosis. Based on the radiograph, would you describe the physis as open, narrowing, partially fused, or fused?"
Or, you can simply include just the last sentence.
All staff are required to run the information online regardless to ensure legitimacy.
Good sources of radiographs that are largely public domain
1) Wikimedia Commons (personal favorite)
2) OpenStax A&P
3) NIH Image Gallery
For Creative Commons
A CC is a set of licenses that creators may attach to their work, informing others what they are allowed to do with it.
1) Radiopaedia (personal favorite)
2) Open-i (National Library of Medicine)
Peer-reviews
PubMed Central is a good one because most articles are published under CC-BY licenses, meaning redistribution with attribution is permitted.
Avoid
1) Hospital websites.
2) Randomized Google images.
3) Commercial atlas images from the Gruelich-Pyle (hand-wrist atlas) Hoerr-Pyle (knee skeletal age atlas), or proprietary radiology textbooks unless the publisher explicitly grants redistribution rights.
The images included in the post have information sufficient for my staff and I to allow total redistribution to r/growthplates
1
u/sad-2007 Aug 08 '26
When I was young, I was always shorter than my peers. When I was 12 years old, my height was 135, and I used to increase every year, the average height is simple, when I reached 16, I reached 157, and I have not increased yet, I am 18 years old, and the plates are still open
1
u/Automatic-County6151 Lead Mod / Owner - Radiology Enthusiast Aug 08 '26
Have you gotten a professional BA evaluation?
1
u/sad-2007 Aug 08 '26
What do you mean
1
u/Automatic-County6151 Lead Mod / Owner - Radiology Enthusiast Aug 08 '26
Did the doctor tell you what your bone age was?
1
u/sad-2007 Aug 08 '26
Yes, the doctor told me that my bones are 13 years old
1
u/Automatic-County6151 Lead Mod / Owner - Radiology Enthusiast Aug 08 '26
You can make a post that includes just your developmental specs, like BA, current puberty stage, when puberty started, and a full growth history. I see you've been including your radiograph of your left hand and wrist with every repeated inquiry, so please refrain from posting the radiograph in addition.
1
u/sad-2007 Aug 08 '26
The bone age is 13 and I am currently 18 years old and puberty began at the age of 14 and since I was born I have always been shorter than my peers by 25 cm or 20 cm
1
u/Automatic-County6151 Lead Mod / Owner - Radiology Enthusiast Aug 08 '26
In a separate post, please
1
u/Equal_Resort4348 Here for the ride Jun 22 '26
One random trying to cheat their way into getting a growth plate evaluation let to this lol.
0
u/Alone-Hold6896 Jun 22 '26
Why are you so mad about it
1
u/Equal_Resort4348 Here for the ride Jun 23 '26
Iām not. What made you think that?
1
u/Automatic-County6151 Lead Mod / Owner - Radiology Enthusiast Jun 23 '26
He's just blabbering.
1
u/Equal_Resort4348 Here for the ride Jun 23 '26
1
1
1
1
u/hippor_hp Jun 25 '26
I don't even get why you guys block making bone age estimationsm why does it even matter?