• Yuexiang Wang, Bo Qiang, Xiaoming Zhang, James F Greenleaf, Kai-Nan An, Peter C Amadio, and Chunfeng Zhao.
• Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Biomechanics Laboratory, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
• J Biomech. 2012 Nov 15; 45 (16): 2927-30.

AbstractAlthough a close relationship between carpal tunnel pressure and median nerve dysfunction has been found, the current methods for pressure measurements are invasive, using a catheter in the carpal canal to monitor the pressure. A noninvasive method for quantifying carpal tunnel pressure would be useful as an alternative to the catheter method. In this study, a simplified experimental model was developed to measure the shear wave speed in a canine Achilles tendon under different tunnel pressures. The results showed that the speed of waves through the inside-tunnel tendon had a linear relationship with the pressure in the tunnel (first measurement: r=0.966, P<0.001; second measurement: r=0.970, P<0.001). This indicates that the tendon could serve as a strain gauge to evaluate the tunnel pressure by detecting the changes of wave propagation speed. However, further validations in human cadavers and clinical subjects are necessary.Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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