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Updated: May 22, 2026
![PET/CT With [68Ga]-NOTA-FAP-2286 for Imaging of Tendon Injuries in Rat Achilles Tendon Injury Models](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcloudfront.jove.com%2FCDNSource%2Fteasers%2F67717.jpg&w=3840&q=50)
PET/CT With [68Ga]-NOTA-FAP-2286 for Imaging of Tendon Injuries in Rat Achilles Tendon Injury Models
Published on: June 6, 2025
Application of contrast-enhanced sonography with time-intensity curve analysis to explore hypervascularity in
Ke-Vin Chang1, Chueh-Hung Wu, Yu-Hui Ding
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
Objectives:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of contrast-enhanced sonography in staging and grading hypervascularity in tendinopathic tissues by using a rabbit model.
Methods:
Fourteen rabbits were injected with 100 and 50 μL of collagenase in their left and right Achilles tendons, respectively. The vascularity was assessed by non-contrast-enhanced and contrast-enhanced power Doppler sonography on day 0 (baseline) and days 1, 7, and 14 after collagenase injections. Color pixels within targeted areas were plotted according to time and analyzed by a curve-fitting method.
Results:
Non-contrast-enhanced power Doppler sonography failed to differentiate vascularity at various stages or between bilateral tendons, whereas contrast-enhanced sonography showed that the peak color pixel amount reached its maximum on day 1 and declined over time in tendons treated with 100 μL of collagenase. A similar trend was observed in tendons receiving 50 μL of collagenase. For comparisons between bilateral tendons, higher vascularity was detected in those treated with more collagenase on day 1 or 7. Time-intensity curve analysis revealed rapid microbubble replenishment in both tendons during their initial phase after collagenase injections.
Conclusions:
Contrast-enhanced sonography discriminated the vascularity of various injury grades at different time points after collagenase injections. Time-intensity curve analysis detailed the hemodynamics in tendinopathic tissues, which helped differentiate vascularity in acute inflammatory from later degenerative phases.
