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Real-time sonography to estimate muscle thickness: comparison with MRI and CT
A C Dupont1, E E Sauerbrei, P V Fenton
1Department of Physiology, Queen's University and Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada.
Journal of Clinical Ultrasound : JCU
|April 27, 2001
Summary
Real-time sonography accurately measures muscle thickness in humans, even with implanted microstimulators. This non-invasive technique is valuable for monitoring muscle health and atrophy prevention.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Musculoskeletal Imaging
- Medical Device Technology
Background:
- Disuse muscle atrophy is a significant clinical concern.
- Intramuscular microstimulators are being developed for treating muscle atrophy.
- Accurate muscle thickness measurement is crucial for monitoring treatment efficacy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility of real-time sonography for measuring muscle thickness.
- To assess the impact of implanted microstimulators on imaging.
- To establish protocols for consistent muscle thickness measurements.
Main Methods:
- Porcine muscles with microstimulators were imaged using sonography, MRI, and CT.
- Image artifacts and alignment protocols were assessed.
- Sonography and MRI were used to measure deltoid and supraspinatus muscle thickness in human subjects.
Main Results:
- Microstimulators produced minimal imaging artifacts across all modalities.
- Sonographic and MRI muscle thickness measurements showed high agreement (r=0.96-0.97).
- Repeated sonographic measurements demonstrated low variability (2.3%-3.1% coefficient of variation).
Conclusions:
- Real-time sonography is a feasible, accurate, and cost-effective method for measuring muscle thickness.
- Strict adherence to imaging protocols and transducer pressure is essential for accuracy.
- This technique can be clinically applied to monitor muscles with implanted microstimulators.