Quantitative Ultrasound Techniques Used for Peripheral Nerve Assessment.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biophysics
• Neurology

Background:

• Qualitative B-mode ultrasound imaging of peripheral nerves is prone to operator and system biases.
• Objective evaluation methods are needed to enhance the accuracy and reliability of peripheral nerve assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review quantitative ultrasound (QUS) techniques for peripheral nerve assessment.
• To summarize the strengths and limitations of various QUS methods for clinical application.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of publications from 1990 onwards.
• Searches conducted in Google Scholar, Scopus, and PubMed using terms like "peripheral nerve", "quantitative ultrasound", and "elastography ultrasound".

Main Results:

• QUS techniques for peripheral nerves fall into three categories: B-mode echogenicity, ultrasound elastography (strain and shear wave elastography), and radiofrequency signal characterization.
• B-mode echogenicity is influenced by post-processing algorithms.
• Ultrasound elastography measures tissue stiffness, while RF signal analysis provides microstructural properties like acoustic attenuation.

Conclusions:

• QUS techniques enable objective peripheral nerve evaluation, reducing biases associated with qualitative imaging.
• Understanding the strengths and limitations of QUS methods is crucial for their successful clinical translation in peripheral nerve diagnostics.