Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-1-2025
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study investigated methods of evaluating the bone fracture healing process using superb microvascular imaging (SMI; two modes color SMI [cSMI] and monochromeSMI [mSMI]), and shear wave elastography (SWE), relative to X-ray, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1 (PECAM-1) also know as cluster of differentiation 31 (CD-31) staining in a rabbit model.
METHODS: This IACUC-approved study involved eight rabbits that underwent a bilateral fibula osteotomy and were followed for 7 or 21 days (Groups 1 and 2 with 4 rabbits in each). Ultrasound examinations using cSMI, mSMI, and SWE were performed on Days 0, 4, 7, 14, and 21 post-surgery. At the final time point, rabbits had X-ray imaging followed by euthanasia and DXA scan. Finally, the fracture areas underwent decalcification, and specimens were stained with CD-31 for pathological analysis. Ultrasound and X-ray findings were compared using ANOVAs or paired t-tests with CD-31 stains and DXA was used as a reference.
RESULTS: Comparing SMI ultrasound images between the last time points for Group 1 (Day 7) and Group 2 (Day 21) showed no statistical significance difference for cSMI (P = .14) and mSMI (P = .06), similarly when compared with CD-31 stains there was no statistical significance difference for cSMI in Group 2 (P = .13). The SWE ultrasound images from the last time points in Groups 1 and showed no statistical significance difference (P = .33), the same results were then compared with DXA and also showed no statistical significance difference (P = .14). When comparing results of the X-ray images from the last time points for Groups 1 and 2 a statistical significance difference was found (P = .01), and when X-ray images were compared with DXA there was a statistical significance difference (P < .001).
CONCLUSION: Compared with CD-31 stains cSMI on Day 21 was not statistically significant (P = .13). Results comparing SWE with DXA were also not statistically significant (P = .14). These results indicate the potential of using certain ultrasound imaging techniques to monitor the bone fracture healing process.
Recommended Citation
Machado, Priscilla; Blackman, Rachel; Liu, Ji-Bin; Dempsey, Collleen; Forsberg, Flemming; and Fox, Traci, "Evaluating Bone Fracture Healing in a Rabbit Model Using Doppler Imaging Modes, Shear Wave Elastography, X-Ray, and Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry" (2025). Department of Radiology Faculty Papers. Paper 169.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/radiologyfp/169
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
PubMed ID
39840588
Language
English
Comments
This article is the author’s final published version in the Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Volume 44, Issue 5, May 2025, Pages 927-933.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1002/jum.16652. Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.