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Updated: Aug 26, 2026
A Probing Device for Quantitatively Measuring the Mechanical Properties of Soft Tissues during Arthroscopy
Published on: May 1, 2020
Quantitative arthroscopic ultrasound evaluation of living human cartilage
Koji Hattori1, Yoshinori Takakura, Masao Ishimura
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Nara Medical University, 840, Shijyo-cho, Kashihara, Nara 634-8522, Japan. hattori@naramed-u.ac.jp
Objective:
To investigate whether living human articular cartilage can be evaluated quantitatively by means of a new diagnostic technique that introduces an ultrasonic probe into the knee joint under arthroscopy and then analyzes the A-mode echogram by means of wavelet transformation.
Design:
Intact and injured sites of living human articular cartilage were evaluated under arthroscopy. The maximum magnitude and the echo duration (defined as the length of time that included 95% of echo signal) were selected as the quantitative indices on the wavelet map.
Background:
Quantitative evaluation of articular cartilage in situ has the potential to contribute to our understanding of cartilage breakdown and to the effectiveness of cartilage regeneration. However, a reliable method of quantitative cartilage evaluation has yet to be developed for clinical use.
Methods:
Living human articular cartilage was analyzed using an ultrasonic probe under arthroscopy and the cartilage characteristics on the echo duration-maximum magnitude graph were examined.
Results:
Unlike the L-shape distribution of human cadaver cartilage data, the distribution of the living human articular cartilage data showed a smooth curve with a steep initial gradient that flattens gradually at the highest value of echo duration on the echo duration-maximum magnitude graph.
Conclusions:
The present study suggests a new quantitative evaluation system for articular cartilage with clinical potential.
