Key result
Increasing ultrasound probe compression significantly decreased all elastography features on the near wall of both the common and internal carotid arteries, with changes of 10.1%-45.6% in magnitude.
Why the study?
The study was conducted to evaluate the impact of varying the external compression exerted by the ultrasound probe when performing a carotid strain elastography exam.
Does varying ultrasound probe compression force affect carotid strain elastography measurements in healthy volunteers?
Observational (n=9)
Does varying ultrasound probe compression force affect carotid strain elastography measurements in healthy volunteers?
Varying ultrasound probe compression significantly alters carotid strain elastography measurements, highlighting the need to use the lowest possible probe compression to improve measurement robustness.
Probe compression alters carotid elastography values; leaves open standardization needs before clinical use.
OBJECTIVE: To study the impact of varying the external compression exerted by the ultrasound probe when performing a carotid strain elastography exam. METHODS: Nine healthy volunteers (mean age 43 years ±13 years; 6 men) underwent a vascular ultrasound elastography exam using a custom made sound feedback handle embedding the probe, and allowing the sonographer to adjust the applied compression. A clinical standard practice (SP) force was first recorded, and then predetermined compression (PDC) forces were applied, ranging from 0 to 5 N for the left common carotid artery (CCA) or 2-12 N for the left internal carotid artery (ICA). Six carotid elastography features, namely maximum and cumulated axial strains, maximum and cumulated shear strains, cumulated axial translation, and cumulated lateral translation were assessed with noninvasive vascular elastography (NIVE) on near and far walls of carotids. The carotid intima media thickness (IMT) and diameter were also measured. RESULTS: All elastography features on the near wall of both CCA and ICA decreased statistically significantly as the PDC force increased; this association was also observed for half of the features on the far wall. Three NIVE features at the lowest PDC force (out of 72 that were tested) were statistically significantly different than values at the SP force. Overall, NIVE showed some variance to probe compression with linear regression slopes revealing changes of 10.1%-45.6% in magnitude over the whole compression range on both walls. The maximum IMT for the ICA near wall, and carotid lumen diameters of both CCA and ICA were statistically significantly associated with PDC forces; these features underwent a decrease of 10.2%, 36.2%, and 17.6%, respectively, over the whole range of PDC force increase. Other IMT measurements were not statistically significantly associated with applied PDC forces. CONCLUSION: These results suggest the need of technical guidelines for carotid strain elastography. Using the lowest probe compression while allowing a good B-mode image quality is recommended to improve the robustness of NIVE measurements.
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Chayer et al. (2021) conducted an observational in Healthy volunteers (n=9). Varying external compression exerted by the ultrasound probe vs. Standard practice (SP) force was evaluated on Carotid elastography features (strains and translations) and intima media thickness/diameter. Increasing ultrasound probe compression significantly decreased all elastography features on the near wall of both the common and internal carotid arteries, with changes of 10.1%-45.6% in magnitude.
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