title: Shear-wave elastography of the testis in the healthy man - determination of standard values.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Real-time shear-wave elastography (SWE) is a newly developed technique for the sonographic quantification of tissue elasticity, which already is used in the assessment of breast and thyroid lesions. Due to limited overlying tissue, the testes are ideally suited for assessment using shear wave elastography. To our knowledge, no published data exist on real-time SWE of the testes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty six male volunteers (mean age 51.86±18.82, range 20-86) with no known testicular pathology underwent normal B-mode sonography and multi-frame shear-wave elastography of both testes using the Aixplorer ® ultrasound system (SuperSonic Imagine, Aix en Provence, France). Three measurements were performed for each testis; one in the upper pole, in the middle portion and in the lower pole respectively. The results were statistically evaluated using multivariate analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean shear-wave velocity values were similar in the inferior and superior part of the testicle (1.15 m/s) and were significantly lower in the centre (0.90 m/s). These values were age-independent. Testicular stiffness was significantly lower in the upper pole than in the rest of the testis with increasing volume (p = 0.007).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Real-time shear-wave elastography proved to be feasible in the assessment of testicular stiffness. It is important to consider the measurement region as standard values differ between the centre and the testicular periphery. Further studies with more subjects may be required to define the normal range of values for each age group. Useful clinical applications could include the diagnostic work-up of patients with scrotal masses or male infertility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich-Grosshadern Campus, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trottmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich-Grosshadern Campus, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marcon
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich-Grosshadern Campus, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Anastasi
authors.affiliation: Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Bruce
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich-Grosshadern Campus, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Stief
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich-Grosshadern Campus, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Reiser
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich-Grosshadern Campus, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Buchner
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich-Grosshadern Campus, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Clevert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D012016:Reference Values; D013737:Testis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000502:physiology; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Testis; three-dimensional-shear-wave elastography; ultrasonography