Shear Wave Elastography of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament
Open Access
- Author:
- Heller, Rachel
- Area of Honors:
- Mechanical Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Daniel Humberto Cortes Correales, Thesis Supervisor
Anne Elizabeth Martin, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- biomechanics
ACL
mechanical properties
Shear Wave Elastography
ultrasound - Abstract:
- Understanding the structural integrity of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) could provide a quantitative method for monitoring risk of injury as well as rehabilitation after surgical reconstruction. The goal of this study is to develop and assess a protocol for evaluating the stiffness of the ACL in vivo. The objective is to optimize Shear Wave Elastography for screening of the ACL and to collect preliminary data of its shear modulus to determine feasibility of the method. Location of the ACL within ultrasound imaging was verified with Penn State Hershey Medical Center to be 13 millimeter inferior to the tibia plateau. B-mode imaging of a human subject was optimal using an L7-4 transducer at 5.2 MHz, tilted approximately 30 degrees against the knee bent at 120 degrees flexion. This quality was concluded to be sufficient to enable accurate selection within a Region of Interest for elastograghy measurements. Using this protocol, the shear modulus of the ACL (average ± SD) was found to be 95.68 ± 11.48 and 99.99 kPa ± 16.02 kPa for the left and right leg, respectively. The values reported were consistent with a similar study of the Ulnar Collateral Ligament. Shear Wave Elastography was deemed feasible for quantifying the stiffness of the ACL, suggesting its future importance in preventing injury as well as understanding rehabilitation.