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Shear wave sonoelastography of skeletal muscle: basic principles, biomechanical concepts, clinical applications, and future perspectives

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Abstract

Imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis and therapeutic response evaluation of muscular diseases. However, one important limitation is its incapacity to assess the in vivo biomechanical properties of the muscles. The emerging shear wave sonoelastography technique offers a quantifiable spatial representation of the viscoelastic characteristics of skeletal muscle. Elastography is a non-invasive tool used to analyze the physiologic and biomechanical properties of muscles in healthy and pathologic conditions. However, radiologists need to familiarize themselves with the muscular biomechanical concepts and technical challenges of shear wave elastography. This review introduces the basic principles of muscle shear wave elastography, analyzes the factors that can influence measurements and provides an overview of its potential clinical applications in the field of muscular diseases.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the grant from the Société Française de Radiologie – Collège des Enseignants en Radiologie de France (SFR-CERF).

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

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  1. Maud Creze

    Present address: Service de Radiologie, CHU de Bicêtre, Le Kremlin-Bicetre, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Radiology Department, Bicêtre Hospital, APHP, Le Kremlin-Bicetre, France

    Maud Creze, Laurence Rocher & Marie-France Bellin

  2. Laboratory Complexité, Innovations, Activités Motrices et Sportives, CIAMS (EA4532), University Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay, France

    Maud Creze

  3. Imagerie par Résonance Magnétique Médicale et Multi-Modalités, IR4M, CNRS, Univ Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay, France

    Maud Creze, Laurence Rocher, Xavier Maître & Marie-France Bellin

  4. Laboratory “Movement, Interactions, Performance” (EA 4334), Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Nantes, Nantes Cedex 3, France

    Antoine Nordez

  5. Orthopedic Department, Bicêtre Hospital, APHP, Le Kremlin-Bicetre, France

    Marc Soubeyrand

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  1. Maud Creze
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Creze, M., Nordez, A., Soubeyrand, M. et al. Shear wave sonoelastography of skeletal muscle: basic principles, biomechanical concepts, clinical applications, and future perspectives. Skeletal Radiol 47, 457–471 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-017-2843-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-017-2843-y

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