IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control. 2020 Jan;67(1):37-48. doi: 10.1109/TUFFC.2019.2938147. Epub 2019 Aug 28.
Tendon stiffness plays an important role in the tendon healing process, and many studies have indicated that measuring the shear wave velocity (SWV) on tendons relates to their stiffness. Because the thickness of hand tendons is a few millimeters, high-resolution imaging is required for visualizing hand tissues. However, the resolution of current ultrasound elastography systems is insufficient. In this study, a high-frequency (HF) ultrasound elastography system is proposed for measuring the SWVs of hand tendons. The HF ultrasound elastography system uses an external vibrator to create shear waves on hand tendons. Then, it uses a 40-MHz HF ultrasound array transducer with ultrafast ultrasound imaging technology to measure the SWV for characterizing hand tendons. A handheld device that combines a transducer and a vibrator allows the user to scan hand tissues. The biases of HF ultrasound elastography were measured in gelatin phantom experiments and were less than 6% compared to standard mechanical testing approach. Human experiments showed the ability to use HF ultrasound elastography to distinguish different SWVs of hand tendons. The SWVs were 0.73 ± 0.65 m/s and 1 ± 0.54 m/s for flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) and flexor digitorum profundus (FDP), respectively, and 0.52 ± 0.14 m/s and 4.02 ± 0.77 m/s for extensor tendon under stretch and contraction conditions, respectively. The simplicity and convenience of the HF ultrasound elastography system for measuring hand tendon stiffness make it a promising tool for evaluating the severity of hand injuries and the performance of rehabilitation after hand injuries.
肌腱硬度在肌腱愈合过程中起着重要作用，许多研究表明，测量肌腱的剪切波速度（SWV）与其硬度有关。由于手部肌腱的厚度只有几毫米，因此需要高分辨率成像来可视化手部组织。然而，目前的超声弹性成像系统的分辨率不足。在这项研究中，提出了一种用于测量手部肌腱 SWV 的高频（HF）超声弹性成像系统。HF 超声弹性成像系统使用外部振动器在手部肌腱上产生剪切波。然后，它使用具有超快超声成像技术的 40MHz HF 超声阵列换能器来测量 SWV，以对手部肌腱进行特征描述。一种将换能器和振动器结合在一起的手持式设备允许用户扫描手部组织。HF 超声弹性成像的偏差在明胶体模实验中进行了测量，与标准机械测试方法相比，偏差小于 6%。人体实验表明，HF 超声弹性成像能够区分不同手部肌腱的 SWV。屈指浅肌（FDS）和屈指深肌（FDP）的 SWV 分别为 0.73±0.65m/s 和 1±0.54m/s，在拉伸和收缩条件下伸肌腱的 SWV 分别为 0.52±0.14m/s 和 4.02±0.77m/s。HF 超声弹性成像系统用于测量手部肌腱硬度的简单性和便利性使其成为评估手部损伤严重程度和手部损伤康复效果的有前途的工具。
