Abstract
Although a close relationship between carpal tunnel pressure and median nerve dysfunction has been found, the current methods for pressure measurements are invasive, using a catheter in the carpal canal to monitor the pressure. A noninvasive method for quantifying carpal tunnel pressure would be useful as an alternative to the catheter method. In this study, a simplified experimental model was developed to measure the shear wave speed in a canine Achilles tendon under different tunnel pressures. The results showed that the speed of waves through the inside-tunnel tendon had a linear relationship with the pressure in the tunnel (first measurement: r=0.966, P<0.001; second measurement: r=0.970, P<0.001). This indicates that the tendon could serve as a strain gauge to evaluate the tunnel pressure by detecting the changes of wave propagation speed. However, further validations in human cadavers and clinical subjects are necessary.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2927-2930 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Journal of Biomechanics |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue number | 16 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 15 2012 |
Keywords
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Pressure measurement
- Shear wave
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics
- Rehabilitation
- Biomedical Engineering
- Orthopedics and Sports Medicine