Radiology and Medical Imaging Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Kharj 16278, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Radiological Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 14511, Saudi Arabia.
Sensors (Basel). 2024 May 27;24(11):3444. doi: 10.3390/s24113444.
This study investigated the reliability of measuring the median nerve cross-sectional area (CSA) at the carpal tunnel inlet using a handheld ultrasound device (HUD) compared to a standard ultrasound system, focusing on intra- and inter-operator reproducibility among novice and expert operators. Employing a prospective cross-sectional design, 37 asymptomatic adults were assessed using both devices, with measurements taken by an expert with over five years of experience and a novice with less than six months. The CSA was determined using manual tracing and ellipse methods, with reproducibility evaluated through intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and agreement assessed via Bland-Altman plots. Results showed a high degree of agreement between the devices, with excellent intra-operator reproducibility (ICC > 0.80) for the expert, and moderate reproducibility for the novice (ICCs ranging from 0.539 to 0.841). Inter-operator reliability was generally moderate, indicating acceptable consistency across different experience levels. The study concludes that HUDs are comparable to standard ultrasound systems for assessing median nerve CSA in asymptomatic subjects, with both devices providing reliable measurements. This supports the use of HUDs in diverse clinical environments, particularly where access to traditional ultrasound is limited. Further research with a larger sample and symptomatic patients is recommended to validate these findings.
本研究旨在探讨使用手持式超声设备（HUD）测量腕管入口处正中神经横截面积（CSA）的可靠性，与标准超声系统进行比较，重点关注新手和专家操作人员的内部和之间的可重复性。采用前瞻性横断面设计，对 37 名无症状成年人进行了两种设备的评估，由具有超过五年经验的专家和少于六个月经验的新手进行测量。CSA 采用手动追踪和椭圆方法确定，通过组内相关系数（ICC）评估可重复性，并通过 Bland-Altman 图评估一致性。结果表明，两种设备之间具有高度的一致性，专家的内部操作者可重复性非常好（ICC>0.80），新手的可重复性为中度（ICC 范围为 0.539 至 0.841）。操作者之间的可靠性通常为中度，表明在不同经验水平下具有可接受的一致性。该研究得出结论，HUD 与标准超声系统一样，可用于评估无症状受试者正中神经 CSA，两种设备均可提供可靠的测量结果。这支持在不同的临床环境中使用 HUD，特别是在传统超声设备有限的情况下。建议进行具有更大样本量和症状患者的进一步研究，以验证这些发现。
