P.13.9 Acoustic radiation force impulse imaging for the differentiation of muscle tissue stiffness in neuromuscular disorders

Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI)-Imaging is an ultrasound-based elastography method enabling quantitative measurement of tissue stiffness. It involves the mechanical excitation of tissue using acoustic pulses to generate localized displacements resulting in shear-wave propagation, which is tracked using correlation-based methods and recorded in meters/s. The aim of this study is to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of ARFI-imaging for muscle tissue stiffness differentiation (fat vs. fibrous tissue) in select muscles of patients unaffected by muscle disease vs. those affected by collagen 6 myopathy (COL6), LAMA2 related muscular dystrophy (LAMA2), or Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).Inclusion criteria were: 5–18year old boys and girls unaffected by muscle disease and age matched children with diagnosed with COL6, LAMA2, or DMD based on muscle biopsy or genetic testing. All patients received conventional B-Mode ultrasound and ARFI imaging at specific anatomical landmarks for the greatest bulk of the biceps, triceps, rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, tibialis anterior, and medial and lateral gastrocnemius muscles.Data from 85 (20 COL6; 10 DMD, 15 LAMA2, 40 unaffected) children will be available for analysis. To date, the mean averaged velocity of all assessed muscles with ARFI imaging in healthy muscle tissue was 1.43m/s, in COL6 was 1.21m/s and in DMD was 1.53m/s. For muscles assess individually, the most reproducibly distinguishing values were noted in the tib...
Source: Neuromuscular Disorders - Category: Neurology Authors: Source Type: research