Author: Martin JA1, Biedrzycki AH2, Lee KS3, DeWall RJ3, Brounts SH2, Murphy WL4, Markel MD2, Thelen DG4
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>Materials Science Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Electronic address: jamartin8@wisc.edu.
<sup>2</sup>School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
<sup>3</sup>Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
<sup>4</sup>Materials Science Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Conference/Journal: Ultrasound Med Biol.
Date published: 2015 Oct
Other:
Volume ID: 41 , Issue ID: 10 , Pages: 2722-30 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2015.06.008. Epub 2015 Jul 26. , Word Count: 169
The purpose of this study was to assess the potential for ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) to measure tissue elasticity and ultimate stress in both intact and healing tendons. The lateral gastrocnemius (Achilles) tendons of 41 New Zealand white rabbits were surgically severed and repaired with growth factor coated sutures. SWE imaging was used to measure shear wave speed (SWS) in both the medial and lateral tendons pre-surgery, and at 2 and 4 wk post-surgery. Rabbits were euthanized at 4 wk, and both medial and lateral tendons underwent mechanical testing to failure. SWS significantly (p < 0.001) decreased an average of 17% between the intact and post-surgical state across all tendons. SWS was significantly (p < 0.001) correlated with both the tendon elastic modulus (r = 0.52) and ultimate stress (r = 0.58). Thus, ultrasound SWE is a potentially promising non-invasive technology for quantitatively assessing the mechanical integrity of pre-operative and post-operative tendons.
Published by Elsevier Inc.
KEYWORDS: Rabbit Achilles; Tendon repair; Tendon stiffness; Ultrasound shear wave elastography
PMID: 26215492 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC4556570 [Available on 2016-10-01]