Ultrasound in medicine & biology
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Ultrasound Med Biol · May 2013
Comparative StudyInter-rater, intra-rater, and inter-machine reliability of quantitative ultrasound measurements of the patellar tendon.
The use of ultrasound (US) to perform quantitative measurements of musculoskeletal tissues requires accurate and reliable measurements between investigators and ultrasound machines. The objective of this study was to evaluate inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of patellar tendon measurements between providers with different levels of US experience and inter-machine reliability of US machines. Sixteen subjects without a history of knee pain were evaluated with US examinations of the patellar tendon. ⋯ Bland-Altman plots were constructed to measure validity and demonstrated a mean difference between sonographers of 0.03 mm(2) for CSA measurements and 0.2 mm for tendon length. Using well-defined scanning protocols, a novice and an experienced musculoskeletal sonographer attained high levels of inter-rater agreement, with similarly excellent results for intra-rater and inter-machine reliability. To our knowledge, this study is the first to report inter-machine reliability in the setting of quantitative musculoskeletal ultrasound.
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Ultrasound Med Biol · May 2013
Clinical TrialReal-time ultrasound perfusion imaging in acute stroke: assessment of cerebral perfusion deficits related to arterial recanalization.
We investigated whether real-time ultrasound perfusion imaging (rt-UPI) is able to detect perfusion changes related to arterial recanalization in the acute phase of middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke. Twenty-four patients with acute territorial MCA stroke were examined with rt-UPI and transcranial color-coded duplex ultrasound (TCCD). Ultrasound studies were consecutively performed within 24 h and 72-96 h after stroke onset. ⋯ Correspondingly, β showed a higher slope than at the first examination: β [1/s]: 0.55 ± 0.29 at 24 h versus 0.71 ± 0.27 at 72-96 h (p = 0.04). We conclude that real-time UPI can detect hemodynamic impairment in acute MCA occlusion and subsequent improvement following arterial recanalization. This offers the chance for bedside monitoring of the hemodynamic compromise (e.g. during therapeutic interventions such as systemic thrombolysis).