title: Ultrasound shear wave velocity in skeletal muscle: A reproducibility study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the study was threefold: to assess the reliability of shear wave velocities (SWV) measurements in normal skeletal muscles; to evaluate intra- and inter-operator reproducibility of measurements for a specific site of the muscle and for the mean value in the whole muscle.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two sets of measurements were performed at three weeks intervals of each other on 16 volunteers by two radiologists on medial gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscles. Each muscle was evaluated in 5 different sites, with three measurements for each site in the transverse and longitudinal planes. Reliability of SWV measurements was assessed by means of intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Reliability of the three independent SWV measurements was excellent, slightly better in the longitudinal plane. Inter/intra-operator reproducibility per site was fair to good in the longitudinal plane and poor to fair in the transverse plane. For global values of the whole muscle, ICC showed good agreement in the longitudinal plane and fair agreement in the transverse plane.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Quantitative SWV measurements are reliable when performed in rigorous conditions. In conditions that mirror clinical practice, inter/intra-operator reproducibility is moderate, better for longitudinal compared to transverse plane.
authors.affiliation: Department of radiology, hôpital Édouard-Herriot, hospices civils de Lyon, 5, place d'Arsonval, 69437 Lyon cedex 03, France; Laboratory of anatomy, university of medicine Lyon-Est, 8, avenue Rockefeller, 69003 Lyon, France.
authors.forename: C Dorado
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Cortez
authors.affiliation: Department of radiology, hôpital Édouard-Herriot, hospices civils de Lyon, 5, place d'Arsonval, 69437 Lyon cedex 03, France; Department of radiology, centre Léon-Bérard, 28, rue Laennec, 69373 Lyon, France.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hermitte
authors.affiliation: Department of radiology, hôpital Édouard-Herriot, hospices civils de Lyon, 5, place d'Arsonval, 69437 Lyon cedex 03, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramain
authors.affiliation: Department of radiology, hôpital Édouard-Herriot, hospices civils de Lyon, 5, place d'Arsonval, 69437 Lyon cedex 03, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mesmann
authors.affiliation: Department of radiology, hôpital Édouard-Herriot, hospices civils de Lyon, 5, place d'Arsonval, 69437 Lyon cedex 03, France.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lefort
authors.affiliation: Department of radiology, hôpital Édouard-Herriot, hospices civils de Lyon, 5, place d'Arsonval, 69437 Lyon cedex 03, France; Inserm UMR 1033, Pavillion F, hôpital Édouard-Herriot, 5, place d'Arsonval, 69437 Lyon cedex 03, France. Electronic address: jean-baptiste.pialat@chu-lyon.fr.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Pialat
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Elastography; Reproducibility of the results; Shear wave imaging; Skeletal muscles; Ultrasound