Shear wave elastography (SWE) is a feasible and newly developed ultrasonographic technique which is able to assess elasticity of tissues. The aim of this work was to assess the feasibility of SWE on the normal canine common calcaneal tendon (CCT) evaluating the intra-operator repeatability and reproducibility of single measurements and stiffness of different anatomic CCT portions was examined. Tendons were first evaluated with B-mode ultrasound with a linear probe 8.5 to 10 MHz in longitudinal section with slight flexed tarsocrural joint and a gel-pad. Common calcaneal tendon was divided into three different anatomical regions. Shear wave elastography was performed in each region by two operators and quantitative evaluation (m/s and kPa) was performed on the most representative images. Region of interest (0.15 cm) was settled. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) results were classified using the following scale: 0.00 to 0.20 = poor; 0.20 to 0.40 = fair; 0.40 to 075 = good; >0.75 = excellent. Ten adult dogs were enrolled. Intra-operator ICC values were >0.75 for both operators in every tendon portion. Inter-operator SWE ICC values for m/s measurements were 0.3, 0.61 and 0.61 for the enthesis, intermediate portion and the myotendinous junction respectively; for kPa measurements, values were respectively 0.3, 0.7 and 0.81. The three CCT portions were significantly different in stiffness (p-value < 0.001 for both m/s and kPa measurements). These preliminary results provide evidence that SWE is potentially appliable to assess mechanical properties of canine CCT affected by tendinopathies.

剪切波弹性成像 (SWE) 是一种可行且新开发的超声技术，能够评估组织的弹性。这项工作的目的是评估 SWE 在正常犬跟骨跟腱 (CCT) 上的可行性，评估单个测量的操作者内部重复性和再现性，并检查不同解剖 CCT 部分的刚度。肌腱首先用 B 型超声进行评估，线性探头 8.5 至 10 MHz 的纵向截面，具有轻微弯曲的跗腿关节和凝胶垫。跟骨跟腱被分为三个不同的解剖区域。由两名操作员在每个区域进行剪切波弹性成像，并对最具代表性的图像进行定量评估（m/s 和 kPa）。感兴趣的区域 (0.15 cm) 已解决。组内相关系数 (ICC) 结果使用以下等级进行分类：0.00 到 0.20 = 差；0.20 到 0.40 = 公平；0.40 到 075 = 好；>0.75 = 优秀。招募了十只成年犬。两个操作员在每个肌腱部分的操作员内 ICC 值均 >0.75。m/s 测量的操作者间 SWE ICC 值分别为 0.3、0.61 和 0.61，用于附着点、中间部分和肌腱连接处；对于 kPa 测量，值分别为 0.3、0.7 和 0.81。三个 CCT 部分在刚度上有显着差异（m/s 测量的操作者间 SWE ICC 值分别为 0.3、0.61 和 0.61，用于附着点、中间部分和肌腱连接处；对于 kPa 测量，值分别为 0.3、0.7 和 0.81。三个 CCT 部分在刚度上有显着差异（m/s 测量的操作者间 SWE ICC 值分别为 0.3、0.61 和 0.61，用于附着点、中间部分和肌腱连接处；对于 kPa 测量，值分别为 0.3、0.7 和 0.81。三个 CCT 部分在刚度上有显着差异（m/s 和 kPa 测量值的p值 < 0.001）。这些初步结果提供了证据，表明 SWE 可能适用于评估受肌腱病影响的犬 CCT 的机械特性。