Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 30, 2026
In Vivo Functional Assessment of Rat Masseter Muscle Following Surgical Creation of a Volumetric Muscle Loss (VML) Injury
Published on: November 15, 2024
Quantitative assessment of the masseter muscle's elasticity using Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse
Iulia Badea1, Attila Tamas-Szora2, Ioana Chiorean3
1Department of Conservative Odontology "Iuliu Haţieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj Napoca, Romania. tamas-szora.attila@umfcluj.ro.
Aims:
The study proposes Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) assessment of the masseter muscle elasticity in the healthy population and in patients who have undergone head and neck radiation therapy.
Patients And Methods:
Twenty-five healthy controls constituted group A, and 13 patients who had underwent radiotherapy (35Gy minimum) formed group B. ARFI was performed bilaterally in the periphery (P) and the muscle center (C), in relaxation and contraction. Means and standard deviations were obtained for the recorded shear waves velocities (SWV).
Results:
For group A: in the relaxed right muscle C = 1.87±0.52 m/s and P = 1.96 ±0.55 m/s and in the left muscle C = 1.66 +/- 0.47 m/s, P = 1.67 +/-0.53 m/s. For group B, in relaxation, the right side presented C = 1.67 +/-0.6 m/s, P 1.72 +/-0.56 m/s, the left muscle C = 1.6 +/-0.34 m/s, P = 1.73 +/-0.37 m/s. There were no differences (p> 0.05) between P and C of both groups, regardless of the muscle state. The values for relaxation and contraction in A and B (merged values of the right and left) presented no differences (1.79+/-0.52 m/s vs 1.72 +/-0.73 m/s, p = 0.72 and 1.70 +/-0.48 m/s and vs 1.59 +/-0.77 m/s, p = 0.98). All measurements of group A vs B were not different (1.79 +/-0.52 m/s vs 1.65 +/-0.63 m/s, p = 0.78).
Conclusions:
ARFI with SWV measurement enables the quantification of normal and post irradiation elasticity of the masseter. Further studies on a larger population are required to validate the normal and pathologic values.
