Modelling human musculoskeletal functional movements using ultrasound imaging

The spatial image resolution in ultrasound systems has improved tremendously in the last few years and nowadays provides detailed information about tissue characteristics. It is now possible to study skeletal muscles in real-time during activity.The ultrasound images are transformed to be congruent and are effectively compressed and stacked in order to be analysed with multivariate techniques. The method is applied to a relevant clinical orthopaedic research field, namely to describe the dynamics in the Achilles tendon and the calf during real-time movements.This study introduces a novel method to medical applications that can be used to examine ultrasound image sequences and to detect, visualise and quantify skeletal muscle dynamics and functions.This new objective method is a powerful tool to use when visualising tissue activity and dynamics of musculoskeletal ultrasound registrations.Image analysis has been used for decades as a tool to analyse different kinds of tissues. It provides a rich resource when presenting medical and clinical information and the plethora of techniques using images is increasing rapidly.Various pathologic conditions benefit from medical imaging of soft tissues in terms of detection, progression, remission (effects of treatment), etc. Tumours, for example, share important similarities with skeletal muscles. They are both inherently smooth masses with dynamic characteristics. In the tumour case, a change in the tissue's dynamic quality is an important indicator of diagnostic evaluations and is therefore of great clinical value. For instance, decreased tissue dynamics in a muscle can, in the musculoskeletal case, be an indication of inflammation [1] or ischemia [2]. Muscle function can also be related to a wide variety of conditions, for example pain, ischemic and neurological disorders, exercise and injury. There is thus an urging need for imaging tools that can be used to study the dynamics of skeletal muscles, and especially to do so in