Carroll AS, Simon NG. Current and future applications of ultrasound imaging in peripheral nerve disorders. World J Radiol 2020; 12(6): 101-129 [PMID: 32742576 DOI: 10.4329/wjr.v12.i6.101]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Neil G Simon, FRACP, MBBS, PhD, Doctor, Senior Lecturer, Northern Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Northern Beaches Hospital, Suite 14A, Frenchs Forest 2086, NSW, Australia. neil@nbneuro.com.au
Research Domain of This Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Radiol. Jun 28, 2020; 12(6): 101-129 Published online Jun 28, 2020. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v12.i6.101
Current and future applications of ultrasound imaging in peripheral nerve disorders
Antonia S Carroll, Neil G Simon
Antonia S Carroll, Brain and Mind Research Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown 2050, NSW, Australia
Antonia S Carroll, Department of Neurology, Westmead Hospital, University of Sydney, Westmead 2145, NSW, Australia
Antonia S Carroll, Department of Neurology, St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, Darlinghurst 2010, NSW, Australia
Neil G Simon, Northern Clinical School, University of Sydney, Frenchs Forest 2086, NSW, Australia
Author contributions: Carroll AS was involved in the design, data acquisition, writing of the original draft manuscript, creation of figures and editing; Simon NG was involved in conceptualization, review of manuscript, creating of figures and editing. All authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Supported byBrain Foundation of Australia.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no conflict of interest associated with any of the senior author or other coauthors contributed their efforts in this manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Neil G Simon, FRACP, MBBS, PhD, Doctor, Senior Lecturer, Northern Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Northern Beaches Hospital, Suite 14A, Frenchs Forest 2086, NSW, Australia. neil@nbneuro.com.au
Received: February 28, 2020 Peer-review started: February 28, 2020 First decision: April 12, 2020 Revised: May 10, 2020 Accepted: May 28, 2020 Article in press: May 28, 2020 Published online: June 28, 2020 Processing time: 120 Days and 22.7 Hours
Abstract
Neuromuscular ultrasound (NMUS) is a rapidly evolving technique used in neuromuscular medicine to provide complimentary information to standard electrodiagnostic studies. NMUS provides a dynamic, real time assessment of anatomy which can alter both diagnostic and management pathways in peripheral nerve disorders. This review describes the current and future techniques used in NMUS and details the applications and developments in the diagnosis and monitoring of compressive, hereditary, immune-mediated and axonal peripheral nerve disorders, and motor neuron diseases. Technological advances have allowed the increased utilisation of ultrasound for management of peripheral nerve disorders; however, several practical considerations need to be taken into account to facilitate the widespread uptake of this technique.
Core tip: Neuromuscular ultrasound is now an extension of the clinical examination, providing complimentary structural information to standard electrodiagnostics. Typical ultrasonographic patterns can assist with distinguishing neuropathies of different aetiologies and is increasingly used as a non-invasive biomarker to monitor treatment effect.
