Rotator cuff: evaluation with US and MR imaging. Radiographics 1999;19(3):685-705
Date
05/21/1999Pubmed ID
10336198DOI
10.1148/radiographics.19.3.g99ma03685Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0033125852 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 91 CitationsAbstract
Magnetic resonance (MR) and ultrasound (US) imaging are currently touted for assessment of rotator cuff disease. Optimum clinical imaging techniques include use of (a) a 1.5-T MR imaging unit with small planar coils, proton-density-weighted and T2-weighted fast spin-echo sequences, and 10-12-cm fields of view (yielding 400-470 x 500-625-microm in-plane spatial resolution) and (b) a state-of-the-art commercial US unit with insonation frequencies of 9-13 MHz (yielding 200-400-microm axial and lateral resolution). Proper diagnosis requires familiarity with normal anatomic characteristics and imaging pitfalls. Care must be taken to avoid sonographic tendon anisotropy and MR imaging magic angle effects, which can be misinterpreted as rotator cuff tear. At MR imaging, a complete cuff tear typically appears as either a hyperintense defect or a tendinous avulsion that extends from the bursal to the articular side of the cuff; a partial cuff tear typically appears as a focal hyperintense region that contacts only one surface of the cuff. Complete and partial tears manifest with a wide spectrum of findings at US. MR imaging and US are effective for evaluating rotator cuff injuries, with high reported accuracies for detection of complete tears but more disparate results for detection of partial tears.
Author List
Seibold CJ, Mallisee TA, Erickson SJ, Boynton MD, Raasch WG, Timins MEAuthor
Scott J. Erickson MD Professor in the Radiology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
ArtifactsBursa, Synovial
Diagnosis, Differential
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Muscular Diseases
Rotator Cuff
Rotator Cuff Injuries
Rupture
Shoulder Injuries
Shoulder Joint
Ultrasonography
