CEUS-application possibilities in the musculoskeletal system

Abstract

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) offers easily accessible visualization and quantification of the skeletal muscle microcirculation and other tissues in vivo and in real-time with almost no side effects. The aim of this review is to present the increasing number of musculoskeletal CEUS applications. CEUS applications regarding the musculoskeletal system include applications at bone and joints extending beyond the visualization of only the muscular microcirculation. Besides basic muscle physiology, impaired microcirculation in patients with peripheral artery disease or diabetes mellitus and the diagnosis of inflammatory myopathies have been the subject of previous CEUS studies. More recent studies in orthopedics and traumatology have focused on osseous and muscular perfusion characteristics, e. g., in differentiating infected and aseptic non-unions or the impact of different types of implants and prostheses on muscular microcirculation as a surrogate marker of clinical success. CEUS of the musculoskeletal system is used in clinical trials or off-label. Therefore, it is not well established in clinical routine. However, considering the increasing number of musculoskeletal CEUS applications, this could change in the future.