A Novel Ultrasound Technique for Detection of Osteochondral Defects in the Ankle Joint: A Parametric and Feasibility Study

Sensors

Nazli Sarkalkan¹  Arjo J. Loeve¹  Koen W. A. van Dongen²  Gabrielle J. M. Tuijthof¹ 

[1] Department of Biomechanical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Mekelweg 2, Delft 2628 CD, The Netherlands; E-Mails:;Department of Imaging Physics, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Lorentzweg 1, Delft 2628 CJ, The Netherlands; E-Mail:

关键词: diagnosis;    (osteo)chondral defect;    ankle joint;    joint space;    ultrasound propagation;    2D finite-difference time-domain model;   

DOI  :  10.3390/s150100148

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

(Osteo)chondral defects (OCDs) in the ankle are currently diagnosed with modalities that are not convenient to use in long-term follow-ups. Ultrasound (US) imaging, which is a cost-effective and non-invasive alternative, has limited ability to discriminate OCDs. We aim to develop a new diagnostic technique based on US wave propagation through the ankle joint. The presence of OCDs is identified when a US signal deviates from a reference signal associated with the healthy joint. The feasibility of the proposed technique is studied using experimentally-validated 2D finite-difference time-domain models of the ankle joint. The normalized maximum cross correlation of experiments and simulation was 0.97. Effects of variables relevant to the ankle joint, US transducers and OCDs were evaluated. Variations in joint space width and transducer orientation made noticeable alterations to the reference signal: normalized root mean square error ranged from 6.29% to 65.25% and from 19.59% to 8064.2%, respectively. The results suggest that the new technique could be used for detection of OCDs, if the effects of other parameters (i.e., parameters related to the ankle joint and US transducers) can be reduced.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.