Shear wave elastography of the saphenous nerve

Area of Science:

• Musculoskeletal Ultrasound
• Elastography
• Peripheral Nerve Imaging

Background:

• The saphenous nerve is crucial for lower limb sensation.
• Assessing saphenous nerve properties is important for pre-procedural evaluation.
• Sonoelastography offers a non-invasive method to evaluate nerve tissue stiffness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the sonoelastographic features of the saphenous nerve in healthy subjects.
• To establish normative values for saphenous nerve elasticity and cross-sectional area.
• To investigate correlations between nerve elasticity, anatomical measurements, and subject demographics.

Main Methods:

• High-resolution ultrasound and Shear Wave Elastography (SWE) were employed.
• Evaluated 72 saphenous nerves from 36 healthy participants.
• Measured cross-sectional area (CSA) and shear elastic modulus (stiffness) in both short and long axes.

Main Results:

• Mean saphenous nerve CSA was 5.7 mm².
• Mean shear elastic modulus was 29.5 kPa (short axis) and 29.9 kPa (long axis).
• No correlation was found between elastic modulus and CSA, age, height, weight, or BMI. A positive correlation existed between long and short axis elasticity measurements.

Conclusions:

• Sonoelastography provides reliable measurements of saphenous nerve stiffness.
• Established normative elastic modulus values for the saphenous nerve in healthy individuals.
• These reference values can aid in future assessments of the saphenous nerve prior to medical procedures.