Schneebeli Alessandro, Del Grande Filippo, Vincenzo Gabriele, Cescon Corrado, Clijsen Ron, Biordi Fulvio, Barbero Marco
Rehabilitation Research Laboratory 2rLab, Department of Business Economics, Health and Social Care, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, Manno, Switzerland.
Servizio di Radiologia, Ospedale Regionale di Lugano, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC), Lugano, Switzerland.
Skeletal Radiol. 2016 Aug;45(8):1045-52. doi: 10.1007/s00256-016-2382-y. Epub 2016 Apr 16.
To establish the test-retest reliability of sonoelastography (SE) on healthy Achilles tendons in contracted and relaxed states using an external reference system.
Forty-eight Achilles tendons from 24 healthy volunteers were assessed using ultrasound and real-time SE with an external reference material. Tendons were analyzed under relaxed and contracted conditions. Strain ratios between the tendons and the reference material were calculated. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2.k) and Bland-Altman plot were used to assess test-retest reliability.
The reliability of SE measurements under relaxed conditions ranged from high to very high, with an ICC2.k of 0.84 (95 % CI: 0.64-0.92) for reference material, 0.91 (95 % CI: 0.83-0.95) for Achilles tendons and 0.95 (95 % CI: 0.91-0.97) for Kager fat pads (KFP). The ICC2.k value for skin was 0.30 (95 % CI: -0.26 to 0.61). Reliability for measurements in the contracted state ranged from high to very high, with an ICC2.k of 0.93 (95 % CI: 0.87-0.96) for reference material, 0.72 (95 % CI: 0.50-0.84) for skin, 0.93 (95 % CI: 0.87-0.96) for Achilles tendons, and 0.81 (95 % CI: 0.66-0.89) for KFP. Reliability of the strain ratio (tendon/reference) under relaxed conditions was high with an ICC2.k of 0.87 (95 % CI: 0.75-0.93), and in the contracted state, it was very high with an ICC2.k of 0.94 (95 % CI: 0.90-0.97).
Sonoelastography using an external reference material is a reliable and simple technique for the assessment of the elasticity of healthy Achilles tendons. The use of an external material as a reference, along with strain ratios, could provide a quantitative measure of elasticity.
使用外部参考系统建立超声弹性成像（SE）对健康跟腱在收缩和松弛状态下的重测信度。
对24名健康志愿者的48条跟腱使用超声和带有外部参考材料的实时SE进行评估。在松弛和收缩条件下对跟腱进行分析。计算跟腱与参考材料之间的应变比。使用组内相关系数（ICC2.k）和Bland-Altman图评估重测信度。
在松弛条件下SE测量的信度范围从高到非常高，参考材料的ICC2.k为0.84（95%CI：0.64 - 0.92），跟腱为0.91（95%CI：0.83 - 0.95），跟腱周围脂肪垫（KFP）为0.95（95%CI：0.91 - 0.97）。皮肤的ICC2.k值为0.30（95%CI： - 0.26至0.61）。在收缩状态下测量的信度范围从高到非常高，参考材料的ICC2.k为0.93（95%CI：0.87 - 0.96），皮肤为0.72（95%CI：0.50 - 0.84），跟腱为0.93（95%CI：0.87 - 0.96），KFP为0.81（95%CI：0.66 - 0.89）。在松弛条件下应变比（跟腱/参考）的信度较高，ICC2.k为0.87（95%CI：0.75 - 0.93），在收缩状态下，信度非常高，ICC2.k为0.94（95%CI：0.90 - 0.97）。
使用外部参考材料的超声弹性成像是评估健康跟腱弹性的一种可靠且简单的技术。使用外部材料作为参考，结合应变比，可以提供弹性的定量测量。
