Until now direct localization of motor endplates for any arbitrary muscle structure was reserved to cadaver studies or restricted to specific muscles in-vivo. Utilizing ultrafast ultrasound we report a versatile in-vivo method for the detection of motor endplate zones. To achieve this goal, we employ a research ultrasound system with a linear array transducer probe to record ultrasound images of electrically-stimulated medial gastrocnemius muscles. An optical flow speckle tracking algorithm is used to track the points along a single fascicle. We localize motor endplates at intersection points where mechanical contraction waves diverge bidirectionally towards the fiber ends. Contrary to common experimental methods, our proposed ultrafast ultrasound-based approach allows to localize motor endplates also in deep and pennate muscles in-vivo. These results open up new applications for ultrasound in neuromuscular research.
Leitner C., Vostrikov S., Penasso H., Hager P.A., Cosscttini A., Benini L., et al. (2020). Detection of Motor Endplates in Deep and Pennate Skeletal Muscles in-vivo using Ultrafast Ultrasound. IEEE Computer Society [10.1109/IUS46767.2020.9251756].
Detection of Motor Endplates in Deep and Pennate Skeletal Muscles in-vivo using Ultrafast Ultrasound
Benini L.;
2020
Abstract
Until now direct localization of motor endplates for any arbitrary muscle structure was reserved to cadaver studies or restricted to specific muscles in-vivo. Utilizing ultrafast ultrasound we report a versatile in-vivo method for the detection of motor endplate zones. To achieve this goal, we employ a research ultrasound system with a linear array transducer probe to record ultrasound images of electrically-stimulated medial gastrocnemius muscles. An optical flow speckle tracking algorithm is used to track the points along a single fascicle. We localize motor endplates at intersection points where mechanical contraction waves diverge bidirectionally towards the fiber ends. Contrary to common experimental methods, our proposed ultrafast ultrasound-based approach allows to localize motor endplates also in deep and pennate muscles in-vivo. These results open up new applications for ultrasound in neuromuscular research.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
