ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana - Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2022 January-February;181(1-2):66-71

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.19.04241-4

Copyright © 2019 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

The validity of medial longitudinal arch measurements using ultrasonography characteristics compared to X-ray measurements

Hiroshi SHINOHARA ¹ ✉, Erika HORI ¹, Masanori KOBAYASHI ¹, Futoshi OBATA ¹, Shigeru KOBAYASHI ¹, Yukio URABE ²

¹ Takarazuka University of Medical and Health Care, Hyogo, Japan; ² Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences at Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan

BACKGROUND: The medial longitudinal arch (MLA) is often decreased in flatfoot and hallux valgus. MLA measurement is commonly performed in the clinic and there are many methods used for measuring MLA using the navicular height. However, there is a need to devise a simple and accurate measurement method and the authors considered achieving this via ultrasonography. The validity of MLA measurement using ultrasonography compared to the X-ray method was investigated in this study.
METHODS: The subjects were 10 university students (a total of 20 feet). The MLA was calculated using X-ray imaging(CAI, CA-MT1) and ultrasonography. When the ultrasound apparatus was used, the heights of the navicular, medial cuneiform, and the angle of the medial cuneiform were calculated. A specially made instrument with a horizontally moving function of ultrasound apparatus probe was used. Pearson correlation analyses were performed to assess the significance of the association between the X-ray-measured MLA (CAI, CA-MT1) and the ultrasound-measured MLA and the angle of the medial cuneiform.
RESULTS: In the standing position, the correlation between CAI, CA-MT1, and the ultrasound-measured MLA (navicular) was good(r=0.62, r=-0.81). The correlation between CAI, CA-MT1, and the ultrasound-measured MLA (medial cuneiform) was also good(r=0.58, r=-0.71). The correlation between CAI, CA-MT1, and the angle of the medial cuneiform was also good (r=-0.74, r=0.67).
CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with the hypothesis of this study, the correlation between the X-ray-measured MLA and the ultrasonography-measured MLA was high in the standing position. The validity of measuring the angle of the medial cuneiform with ultrasound apparatus was also confirmed.

KEY WORDS: Ultrasonography; Tomography scanners, X-ray computed; Instrumentation