Color and Power Doppler US for Diagnosing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Determining Its Severity: A Quantitative Image Processing Method

Abstract

Color Doppler US can be used to accurately diagnose CTS. By processing the recorded power Doppler images and determining the number of pixels in the intraneural vascular area, the severity of CTS can be assessed. 2011 SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: http://radiology.rsna.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1148/radiol.11110150/-/DC1.

Increased nerve vascularization detected by color doppler sonography in patients with ulnar neuropathy at the elbow indicates axonal damage

“…To date, IVUS has not been studied extensively in entrapment neuropathies. Only 5 research groups have described IVUS in median nerve entrapment using CD imaging or power Doppler techniques 4, 10–14. No prior studies have assessed IVUS in patients with UNE.…”

“…Increased intraneural vascularization detected by ultrasonography (IVUS) in peripheral nerves has not yet been studied extensively in pathologic conditions. A number of investigators have reported on IVUS in median nerve entrapment using color Doppler (CD) imaging or power Doppler techniques 4, 10–14…”

Ultrasonography of Peripheral Nerves

“…Color flow in the nerve indicates hypervascularity, which at this time is graded somewhat subjectively. A recent study introduced an image-processing method for quantifying the degree of intraneural vascularity and found that the degree of measured intraneural vascularity correlated highly with the severity of the condition, according to electrodiagnostic testing [18]. …”

The Median Nerve at the Carpal Tunnel … and Elsewhere

“…In this study, the diagnosis was confirmed by using US examination in 31% of the cases with normal electrodiagnostic test findings [34]. The architectural alterations of the nerve studied by US precede conduction abnormalities in the early stages of nerve damage.…”