This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 8756479309345284v1 25/5/241    most recent References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Roll, S. C. Articles by Evans, K. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Feasibility of Using a Hand-Carried Sonographic Unit for Investigating Median Nerve Pathology

The Ohio State University, Columbus, roll.23{at}osu.edu

Kevin Evans, PHD, RT(R)(M)(BD), RDMS, RVS, FSDMS

The Ohio State University, Columbus

Numerous research studies describe the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSD) in diagnostic medical sonographers, but little research has investigated contributing factors and biological changes in symptomatic individuals. Improved image quality and portability, combined with lower cost and dynamic capabilities, have led to increased use of sonography over magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in musculoskeletal evaluations. The purpose of this pilot study was to develop a valid and reliable sonographic protocol for the evaluation of work-related median nerve pathology with a hand-carried sonographic unit. A GE Logiq i (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) hand-carried unit with a 12-MHz linear transducer was used to collect nine longitudinal and transverse images of the median nerve at various anatomical locations in the distal upper extremity of three healthy volunteers. Doppler waveforms were also collected in the median nerve sheath. Qualitative review indicated high-quality images with well-defined structures, resulting in valid measures between multiple researchers of anterior-posterior diameter, cross-sectional area, anterior transverse carpal ligament bulge, and Doppler flow. The use of a hand-carried sonographic unit appears to be a feasible alternative to MRI to detect musculoskeletal changes in symptomatic sonographers. Additional basic and clinical studies are necessary to validate the use of hand-carried sonography as a measure of biological changes in longitudinal WRMSD research.

Key Words: musculoskeletal diseases • carpal tunnel syndrome • nerve compression syndromes • human engineering

This version was published on September 1, 2009

Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Vol. 25, No. 5, 241-249 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/8756479309345284


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?