Ultrasound - Soft tissues

Although often underestimated by radiologists, high-frequency ultrasound plays an important role in the assessment of pathologies of the soft-tissues.

Due to the superficial location of the soft tissues and bones on the hand, high-frequency transducers in the 16 to 24 MHz range must be applied. These dedicated transducers can be used to detect the smallest lesions in the soft tissue and on the bone surface. The most important indications are

• differentiation of cystic and solid tumors (e.g. differentiation of ganglion cysts from tenosynovial giant cell tumors)

• detection of tendon and ligament ruptures, including the localization of retracted tendon stumps

• detection of cortical fractures including fragment dislocation

• diagnosis of synovial lesions with detection of effusions and/or thickened synovium) in degenerative or inflammatory diseases

• determination of the activity of synovial entities (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis) based on the synovial perfusion height in color Doppler or power Doppler ultrasound

• ultrasound guided joint puncture for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes.

One of the advantages of ultrasound diagnostics is functional motion assessment under visualization, e.g. of the joints and tendons. Disadvantages are the dependence on the examiner's experience and the low level of standardization in documentation.

Tags: Hand, Ultrasound, Soft tissues