Differences of standard values of Supersonic shear imaging and ARFI technique - in vivo study of testicular tissue

To investigate the difference of standard values of Supersonic shear imaging (SSI) and Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) technique in the evaluation of testicular tissue stiffness in vivo.

58 healthy male testes were examined using B-mode sonography and ARFI and SSI. B-mode sonography was performed in order to scan the testis for pathologies followed by performance of real-time elastography in three predefined areas (upper pole, central portion and lower pole) using the SuperSonic® Aixplorer ultrasound device (SuperSonic Imagine, Aix-en-Provence, France). Afterwards a second assessment of the same testicular regions by elastography followed using the ARFI technique of the Siemens Acuson 2000™ ultrasound device (Siemens Health Care, Germany). Values of shear wave velocity were described in m/s. Parameters of elastography techniques were compared using paired sample t-test.

The values of SSI were all significantly higher in all measured areas compared to ARFI (p < 0.001 to p = 0.015). Quantitatively there was a higher mean SSI wave velocity value of 1,1 compared to 0.8 m/s measured by ARFI.

SSI values are significantly higher than ARFI values when measuring the stiffness of testicular tissue and should only be compared with caution.