Use of Reflective Tape to Detect Ultrasound Transducer Movement: A Validation Study

Abstract

During dynamic ultrasound assessments, unintended transducer movement over the skin needs to be prevented as it may bias the results. The present study investigated the validity of two methods quantifying transducer motion. An ultrasound transducer was moved on a pre-specified 3 cm distance over the semitendinosus muscle of eleven adults (35.8 ± 9.8 years), stopping briefly at intervals of 0.5 cm. Transducer motion was quantified (1) measuring the 2-D displacement of the shadow produced by reflective tape (RT) attached to the skin and (2) using a marker-based, three-dimensional movement analysis system (MAS). Differences between methods were detected with Wilcoxon tests; associations were checked by means of intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC 3.1) and Bland–Altman plots. Values for RT (r = 0.57, p < 0.001) and MAS (r = 0.19, p = 0.002) were significantly higher than true distances (TD). Strong correlations were found between RT and TD (ICC: 0.98, p < 0.001), MAS and TD (ICC: 0.95, p < 0.001), and MAS and RT (ICC: 0.97, p < 0.001). Bland–Altman plots showed narrow limits of agreement for both RT (−0.49 to 0.13 cm) and MAS (−0.49 to 0.34 cm) versus TD. RT and MAS are valid methods to quantify US transducer movement. In view of its low costs and complexity, RT can particularly be recommended for application in research and clinical practice.

Associations between Deformation of the Thoracolumbar Fascia and Activation of the Erector Spinae and Multifidus Muscle in Patients with Acute Low Back Pain and Healthy Controls: A Matched Pair Case-Control Study

“…The junction between muscle and fascia was then positioned 1.5 cm medial to the centre of the image section. An artificial shadow was created in the US image using a 2 mm wide plastic adhesive tape placed on the skin 1.5 cm lateral to the centre of the image section, which served as a reference for the subsequent measurement [41]. This was necessary to compensate for unintended movement between the skin and the transducer during TET [39,40].…”

“…To avoid the movement of the US transducer on the skin, we measured against an artificial reference with a reflective tape. Mohr et al gave this approach an excellent reliability of ICC = 0.98 [41]. Nevertheless, it cannot be completely ruled out that skin movement affects the measurement.…”

Study of the Anatomical Association between Morton’s Neuroma and the Space Inferior to the Deep Transverse Metatarsal Ligament Using Ultrasound

“…Finally, it should be pointed out that one of the possible limitations of this study is that during the dynamic ultrasound evaluation, it is necessary to avoid involuntary movements of the transducer on the skin because this could bias the results as described in the literature [ 37 ]. It must be borne in mind that the use of US requires a learning curve and that the evaluators must be experienced professionals, as the visualization of the IM space is complex and can lead to mistakes.…”

Associations between Deformation of the Thoracolumbar Fascia and Activation of the Erector Spinae Muscle in Patients with Acute Low Back Pain and Healthy Controls. A Matched Pair Case-Control Study

“…The junction between muscle and fascia was then positioned 1.5 cm medial to the center of the image section. An artificial shadow was created in the US image using a 2 mm wide plastic adhesive tape placed on the skin 1.5 cm lateral to the center of the image section, which served as a reference for the subsequent measurement [37]. This was necessary to compensate for unintended movement between the skin and the transducer during TET [36,38].…”