title: Strain ratio measurement of femoral cartilage by real-time elastosonography: preliminary results.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate strain ratio measurement of femoral cartilage using real-time elastosonography.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-five patients with femoral cartilage pathology on MRI (study group) were prospectively compared with 25 subjects with normal findings on MRI (control group) using real-time elastosonography. Strain ratio measurements of pathologic and normal cartilage were performed and compared, both within the study group and between the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Elastosonography colour-scale coding showed a colour change from blue to red in pathologic cartilage and only blue colour-coding in normal cartilage. In the study group, the median strain ratio was higher in pathologic cartilage areas compared to normal areas (median, 1.49 [interquartile range, 0.80-2.53] vs. median, 0.01 [interquartile range, 0.01-0.01], p < 0.001, respectively). The median strain ratio of the control group was 0.01 (interquartile range, 0.01-0.01), and there was no significant difference compared to normal areas of the study group. There was, however, a significant difference between the control group cartilage and pathologic cartilage of the study group (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Elastosonography may be an effective, easily accessible, and relatively simple tool to demonstrate pathologic cartilage and to differentiate it from normal cartilage in the absence of advanced imaging facility such as MRI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  • Elastosonography uses colour-maps and strain ratios for evaluating tissue deformability. • Colour change from blue to red and increased strain ratio represent softening. • Normal cartilage shows decreased compressibility, represented by blue colour and low strain ratio. • Pathologic cartilage shows increased compressibility, represented by red colour and high strain ratio. • Elastosonography may be used for differentiating pathologic cartilage from normal cartilage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk Training and Research Hospital, Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey, nurdancay@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Nurdan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cay
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ipek
authors.forename: Cetin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Isik
authors.forename: Ozlem
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Unal
authors.forename: Merve Gulbiz
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Kartal
authors.forename: Halil
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Arslan
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bozkurt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007592:Joint Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014463:Ultrasonography