Abstract
Characterization of the elastic properties of a tendon could enhance the diagnosis and treatment of tendon injuries. The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between the shear elastic modulus on the patellar tendon captured from a Supersonic Shear Imaging (SSI) and the tangent traction modulus computed from a Material testing system (MTS) on 8 fresh patellar pig tendons (Experiment I). Test–retest reliability of the shear elastic modulus captured from the SSI was established in Experiment II on 22 patellar tendons of 11 healthy human subjects using the SSI. Spearman Correlation coefficients for the shear elastic modulus and tangent traction modulus ranged from 0.82 to 1.00 (all p<0.05) on the 8 tendons. The intra and inter-operator reliabilities were 0.98 (95% CI: 0.93–0.99) and 0.97 (95% CI: 0.93–0.98) respectively. The results from this study demonstrate that the shear elastic modulus of the patellar tendon measured by the SSI is related to the tangent traction modulus quantified by the MTS. The SSI shows good intra and inter-operator repeatability. Therefore, the present study shows that SSI can be used to assess elastic properties of a tendon.
Highlights
Tendons are involved in every human motion and subjected to high loads
The elastic properties of tendons have been determined using animal [5] and cadaveric [6] tendons undergoing ramped stretching imposed by a motor of a material testing system (MTS)
The objectives of this study were: (1) to assess the correlation of the shear elastic modulus captured from an Supersonic Shear Imaging (SSI) and the tangent traction modulus from a MTS (Experiment I); and (2) to assess the reliability of the shear elastic modulus captured from the SSI, by using test–retest measurements on the patellar tendons of healthy subjects (Experiment II)
Summary
Tendons are involved in every human motion and subjected to high loads. A tendon consists of parallel collagen fibers to resist elongation [1] and exhibits viscoelastic properties for force production and absorption [2]. The elastic properties of tendons have been determined using animal [5] and cadaveric [6] tendons undergoing ramped stretching imposed by a motor of a material testing system (MTS). It has not yet been established, whether findings from isolated excised tendons can be applied to in-vivo physiological functions [4]. Ultrasonography is a non-invasive method for measuring the elastic properties of the human tendon in-vivo [4,7] This method has been used to examine changes in tendon stiffness associated with exercise [8] and aging [9]. Complex methodologies and long acquisition time are the drawbacks of this approach [7]
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