Reliability of a novel ultrasound system for gray‐scale analysis of muscle

ABSTRACT Introduction Ultrasound is increasingly used as an adjunct in the diagnosis of neuromuscular disease by measuring muscle thickness and echointensity (EI). Reproducibility is limited because of variations in scanning technique and proprietary algorithms that alter EI values. Methods We devel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMuscle & nerve Vol. 56; no. 3; pp. 408 - 412
Main Authors O'brien, Travis G., Cazares Gonzalez, Meaghan L., Ghosh, Partha S., Mandrekar, Jay, Boon, Andrea J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.09.2017
Subjects
Adult
Algorithms
Child
Correlation coefficients
Disease control
Female
gray‐scale analysis
Humans
Male
muscle ultrasound
Muscle, Skeletal - diagnostic imaging
Muscles
neuromuscular disease
Neuromuscular diseases
Observer Variation
pediatric
reliability
Reliability analysis
Reproducibility
Reproducibility of Results
Scanning
screening tool
Ultrasonic imaging
Ultrasonography - methods
Ultrasonography - standards
Ultrasound
Variability
gray-scale analysis
neuromuscular disease
screening tool
muscle ultrasound
reliability
pediatric
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Summary:ABSTRACT Introduction Ultrasound is increasingly used as an adjunct in the diagnosis of neuromuscular disease by measuring muscle thickness and echointensity (EI). Reproducibility is limited because of variations in scanning technique and proprietary algorithms that alter EI values. Methods We developed a standardized scanning protocol and a portable machine without any postimaging processing. Ten subjects underwent scanning of 6 muscles by 3 sonographers on 2 separate days. One of the sonographers repeated the protocol with 4 different machine/transducer combinations. Gray‐scale values were measured from each image with the use of a region of interest (ROI) box. Results Combined intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.92 (intra‐rater), 0.88 (inter‐rater), and 0.96 (inter‐system). The biceps had the highest variability (coefficient of variance [COV] 12.7%), and the medial gastrocnemius had the lowest variability (COV 7.4%). Conclusions We demonstrate excellent reliability of a reproducible ultrasound system for gray‐scale analysis of muscle that has potential applicability as a screening tool for neuromuscular disease. Muscle Nerve 56: 408–412, 2017
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ISSN:0148-639X
1097-4598
DOI:10.1002/mus.25513