Techniques for In Vivo Measurement of Ligament and Tendon Strain: A Review.

Techniques for In Vivo Measurement of Ligament and Tendon Strain: A Review. Ann Biomed Eng. 2020 Oct 06;: Authors: Zhang Q, Adam NC, Hosseini Nasab SH, Taylor WR, Smith CR Abstract The critical clinical and scientific insights achieved through knowledge of in vivo musculoskeletal soft tissue strains has motivated the development of relevant measurement techniques. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the key findings, limitations, and clinical impacts of these techniques to quantify musculoskeletal soft tissue strains during dynamic movements. Current technologies generally leverage three techniques to quantify in vivo strain patterns, including implantable strain sensors, virtual fibre elongation, and ultrasound. (1) Implantable strain sensors enable direct measurements of tissue strains with high accuracy and minimal artefact, but are highly invasive and current designs are not clinically viable. (2) The virtual fibre elongation method tracks the relative displacement of tissue attachments to measure strains in both deep and superficial tissues. However, the associated imaging techniques often require exposure to radiation, limit the activities that can be performed, and only quantify bone-to-bone tissue strains. (3) Ultrasound methods enable safe and non-invasive imaging of soft tissue deformation. However, ultrasound can only image superficial tissues, and measurements are confounded by out-of-plane tissue motion. Fina...
Source: Annals of Biomedical Engineering - Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Tags: Ann Biomed Eng Source Type: research