Advantages of real-time spatial compound sonography of the musculoskeletal system versus conventional sonography.
OBJECTIVE
Spatial compound sonography is a method that obtains sonographic information from several different angles of insonation and combines them to produce a single image. By reducing speckle and improving definition of tissue planes, this method can potentially improve image quality in musculoskeletal sonography. The purpose of our study was to compare real-time spatial compound sonography with conventional high-resolution musculoskeletal sonography.


METHODS
Thirty-four patients underwent sonography of the musculoskeletal system for a variety of indications. All patients were evaluated using conventional high-resolution sonography and real-time spatial compound sonography performed with a 12-5-MHz multifrequency linear array transducer. Conventional images and compound images depicting the same musculoskeletal structure were obtained in pairs. A total of 118 images (59 image pairs) were randomly assorted and reviewed on a computer monitor by three experienced sonologists working independently. The reviewers were unaware of the type of images they were evaluating. Image quality was rated using a 5-point scale. The image parameters evaluated were definition of tissue planes, speckle, other noise, and image detail.


RESULTS
Analysis of variance revealed that real-time spatial compound sonography significantly improved definition of soft-tissue planes, reduced speckle and other noise, and improved image detail when compared with conventional high-resolution sonography (p < 0.0001 for all evaluated parameters).


CONCLUSIONS
Real-time spatial compound sonography significantly improved sonographic image quality in the musculoskeletal system when compared with conventional high-resolution sonography. Because musculoskeletal sonography is highly dependent on image quality and tissue-plane definition, spatial compound sonography represents an important development.
Lin
Dennis C
DC
Division of Ultrasound, Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 132 S. 10th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107-5244, USA.
Nazarian
Levon N
LN
O'Kane
Patrick L
PL
McShane
John M
JM
Parker
Laurence
L
Merritt
Christopher R B
CR
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries; D009141:Musculoskeletal System / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013708:Tendon Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D013716:Tennis Elbow / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods