Can Shoulder Muscle Activity Be Evaluated With Ultrasound Shear Wave Elastography?

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate if the three partitions (superior, middle, and inferior partitions) of the infraspinatus muscle previously described in anatomical studies will present different behavior during scapular plane abduction (scaption) as described using shear-wave elastography, especially during initial range of motion. Methods Eight volunteers held their arm against gravity 15° intervals from 30° to 150° in scaption. Shear-wave elastography was implemented at each position to measure shear modulus at rest and during muscle contraction, as a surrogate for muscle stiffness, of each partition. Muscle activity was defined as the difference in stiffness values between the resting positions and those during muscle contraction (ΔE = stiffness at contraction—stiffness at rest). Results The activity value for the middle partition was 25.1 ± 10.8 kPa at 30° and increased up to 105° (52.2 ± 10.8 kPa), with a subsequent decrease at larger angle positions (p < .001). The superior partition showed a flatter and constant behavior with smaller activity values except at higher angles (p < .001). Peak activity values for the superior partition were observed at 135° (23.0 ± 12.0 kPa). Increase activity for inferior partition began at 60° and showed a peak at 135° (p < .001; 32.9 ± 13.8 kPa). Conclusion Stiffness measured using shear-wave elastography in each partition of the infraspinatus muscle demonstrated different behavior between these partitions during scaption. The middle partition generated force throughout scaption, while the superior and inferior partitions exerted force at end range.

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Identifying the mechanical and neural properties of the sternocleidomastoid muscles

Journal of Applied Physiology ◽

10.1152/japplphysiol.00892.2017 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 124 (5) ◽

pp. 1297-1303 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Bhillie D. Luciani ◽

David M. Desmet ◽

Amani A. Alkayyali ◽

Joshua M. Leonardis ◽

David B. Lipps

Keyword(s):

Central Nervous System ◽

Nervous System ◽

Shear Wave ◽

Material Properties ◽

Muscle Activity ◽

Surface Electromyography ◽

Shear Wave Elastography ◽

Moment Arms ◽

Preferred Direction ◽

The Central Nervous System

Neck muscles are preferentially activated in specific force directions, but the constraints that the central nervous system considers when programming these preferred directions of muscle activity are unknown. The current study used ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) to investigate whether the material properties of the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscles exhibit preferred directions similar to their preferred direction of muscle activity during an isometric task. Twenty-four healthy participants matched isometric forces in 16 axial directions. All force targets were scaled to 20% of a maximum voluntary contraction. Muscle activity was recorded with surface electromyography (EMG) from six muscles (the bilateral SCMs, upper trapezius, and splenius capitis muscles), and shear wave velocities (SWVs) were recorded with SWE from both SCM muscles. We observed statistically significant differences between the preferred directions of muscle activity and SWVs for both the left SCM ( P = 0.002) and the right SCM ( P < 0.001), with the SWE data exhibiting a more lateral preferred direction. Significant differences in the spatial focus ( P < 0.001) were also observed, with the dispersion of SWV data covering a greater angular range than the EMG data during isometric tasks. The preferred directions of muscle activity and material properties for the SCM muscles were closer than previous comparisons of muscle activity and moment arms, suggesting muscle mechanics could play a more important role than anatomy in how the central nervous system spatially tunes muscle activation. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Our study used a novel combination of surface electromyography and ultrasound shear wave elastography to investigate the neuromuscular control of the neck. Our work highlights differences in how the activation and material properties of the sternocleidomastoid muscles are modulated as the central nervous system stabilizes the neck during isometric force production. These findings provide normative data for future studies to investigate pathologic changes to both the activation and material properties of the sternocleidomastoid muscles.

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Shear-wave elastography for assessment of trapezius muscle stiffness: Reliability and association with low-level muscle activity

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0234359 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (6) ◽

pp. e0234359

Author(s):

Žiga Kozinc ◽

Nejc Šarabon

Keyword(s):

Shear Wave ◽

Muscle Activity ◽

Trapezius Muscle ◽

Shear Wave Elastography ◽

Muscle Stiffness ◽

Low Level

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Liver Elastography in Healthy Children Using Three Different Systems – How Many Measurements Are Necessary?

Ultraschall in der Medizin - European Journal of Ultrasound ◽

10.1055/a-1283-5906 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anders Batman Mjelle ◽

Anesa Mulabecirovic ◽

Roald Flesland Havre ◽

Edda Jonina Olafsdottir ◽

Odd Helge Gilja ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Shear Wave ◽

Transient Elastography ◽

Intraclass Correlation ◽

Age Groups ◽

Liver Stiffness ◽

Shear Wave Elastography ◽

Healthy Children ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Pediatric Liver Disease ◽

Liver Elastography

Abstract Purpose Liver elastography is increasingly being applied in screening for and follow-up of pediatric liver disease, and has been shown to correlate well with fibrosis staging through liver biopsy. Because time is of the essence when examining children, we wanted to evaluate if a reliable result can be achieved with fewer acquisitions. Materials and Methods 243 healthy children aged 4–17 years were examined after three hours of fasting. Participants were divided into four age groups: 4–7 years; 8–11 years; 12–14 years and 15–17 years. Both two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE; GE Logiq E9) and point shear wave elastography (pSWE; Samsung RS80A with Prestige) were performed in all participants, while transient elastography (TE, Fibroscan) was performed in a subset of 87 children aged 8–17 years. Median liver stiffness measurement (LSM) values of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 acquisitions were compared with the median value of 10 acquisitions (reference standard). Comparison was performed for all participants together as well as within every specific age group. We investigated both the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with absolute agreement and all outliers more than 10 %, 20 % or ≥ 0.5 or 1.0 kPa from the median of 10 acquisitions. Results For all three systems there was no significant difference between three and ten acquisitions, with ICCs ≥ 0.97. All systems needed 4 acquisitions to achieve no LSM deviating ≥ 1.0 kPa of a median of ten. To achieve no LSM deviating ≥ 20 % of a median of ten acquisitions, pSWE and TE needed 4 acquisitions, while 2D-SWE required 6 acquisitions. Conclusion Our results contradict recommendations of 10 acquisitions for pSWE and TE and only 3 for 2D-SWE.

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