Keywords:
Education and training, Technical aspects, Ultrasound, Elastography, Ultrasound physics, Musculoskeletal system, Musculoskeletal joint
Authors:
N. Romano1, A. Fischetti1, G. Rebella2, G. salsano2, M. Marino3, A. Muda1; 1Genova/IT, 2Genoa/IT, 3Roma/IT
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2018/C-0784
Aims and objectives
Ultrasound elastography is a developing form of ultrasonographic diagnostic technique evaluating the tissue elasticity based on differences in stiffness between different biological tissues.
There are different types of ultrasound elastography available and one of the most widely used methods is the strain elastography,
also known as static or compression elastography.
This technique is used to study tissue elasticity alterations in different tissues such as thyroid,
breast,
lymph node,
prostate,
and musculoskeletal system.
To date,
in musculoskeletal applications there are several studies applying ultrasound elastography to evaluate Achilles tendon but,
to our knowledge,
very few studies have investigated the clinical feasibility of ultrasound elastography in the assessment of patellar and quadriceps tendons.
These tendons are components of the knee extensor mechanism and their superficial locations make them ideal for evaluation with ultrasound elastographic techniques.
The purposes of our work are to:
1) establish the normal ultrasound elastography appearance of the patellar tendon and quadriceps tendon
2) determine the effect of knee position on their elasticity.