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Updated: Jul 29, 2025

Screening of Axonal Degeneration in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Using Ultrasonography and Nerve Conduction Studies
Published on: January 11, 2019
The relationship between shear wave velocity in transverse carpal ligament and carpal tunnel pressure: A finite
Linjing Peng1, Yu Wu2, Kishor Lakshminarayanan3
1School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China; Engineering Research Center of Digital Medicine and Clinical Translation, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China.
Abstract:
Elevated carpal tunnel pressure in carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) patients is one of the major causes of nerve damage but cannot be measured non-invasively. This study proposed to use shear wave velocity (SWV) in the transverse carpal ligament (TCL) to measure the surrounding carpal tunnel pressure. The relationship between the carpal tunnel pressure and the SWV in the TCL was investigated through a subject-specific carpal tunnel finite element model reconstrued by MRI imaging. Parametric analysis was conducted to study the effect of TCL Young's modulus and carpal tunnel pressure on the TCL SWV. The SWV in TCL was found to be strongly dependent on the carpal tunnel pressure and TCL Young's modulus. The calculated SWV ranged from 8.0 m/s to 22.6 m/s under a combination of carpal tunnel pressure (0-200 mmHg) and TCL Young's modulus (1.1-11 MPa). An empirical equation was used to fit the relationship between the SWV in TCL and carpal tunnel pressure, with TCL Young's modulus as a confounding factor. The equation proposed in this study provided an approach to estimate carpal tunnel pressure by measuring the SWV in the TCL for a potential non-invasive diagnosis of CTS and may shed light on the mechanical nerve damage mechanism.
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