Winn N, Lalam R, Cassar-Pullicino V. Sonoelastography in the musculoskeletal system: Current role and future directions. World J Radiol 2016; 8(11): 868-879 [PMID: 27928468 DOI: 10.4329/wjr.v8.i11.868]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Dr. Victor Cassar-Pullicino, Department of Radiology, Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Gobowen, Oswestry SY10 7AG, United Kingdom. victor.pullicino@rjah.nhs.uk
Research Domain of This Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Radiol. Nov 28, 2016; 8(11): 868-879 Published online Nov 28, 2016. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v8.i11.868
Sonoelastography in the musculoskeletal system: Current role and future directions
Naomi Winn, Radhesh Lalam, Victor Cassar-Pullicino
Naomi Winn, Radhesh Lalam, Victor Cassar-Pullicino, Department of Radiology, Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Oswestry SY10 7AG, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Winn N wrote the manuscript; Lalam R and Cassar-Pullicino V critically reviewed the text and images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest. No financial support.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Victor Cassar-Pullicino, Department of Radiology, Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Gobowen, Oswestry SY10 7AG, United Kingdom. victor.pullicino@rjah.nhs.uk
Telephone: +44-1691-404000
Received: June 27, 2016 Peer-review started: June 29, 2016 First decision: August 5, 2016 Revised: August 17, 2016 Accepted: September 7, 2016 Article in press: October 28, 2016 Published online: November 28, 2016
Abstract
Ultrasound is an essential modality within musculoskeletal imaging, with the recent addition of elastography. The elastic properties of tissues are different from the acoustic impedance used to create B mode imaging and the flow properties used within Doppler imaging, hence elastography provides a different form of tissue assessment. The current role of ultrasound elastography in the musculoskeletal system will be reviewed, in particular with reference to muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints and soft tissue tumours. The different ultrasound elastography methods currently available will be described, in particular strain elastography and shear wave elastography. Future directions of ultrasound elastography in the musculoskeletal system will also be discussed.
Core tip: This review article describes the different techniques of ultrasound elastography and their current and future role in the musculoskeletal system.
