Colour doppler ultrasound examination of hand tendon pathologies. A preliminary report.

Apart from real-time sonography, in most of the imaging techniques used to examine the musculoskeletal system, such as X-ray, computerized tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging produce mainly static images. Although colour Doppler imaging (CDI) is generally used in the examination of blood flow, it may offer the opportunity to study the dynamic characteristics of tendons and muscles. The purpose of this study was to examine the unilateral flexor and extensor tendon pathologies of the hand and compare these images with the healthy side. A Phillips Quantum Doppler was used to study patients with tendon adhesions and trigger finger. The normal and pathological tendons were scanned at three anatomical levels: wrist, metacarpal and proximal phalanx. The results obtained from the comparison of pathological images with normal ones indicate that CDI offers a promising approach to image dynamically and, in the future, to quantify the function of the tendons and muscles in the musculoskeletal system and to define their pathologies.