Consistency of panoramic ultrasound imaging to examine muscle size and quality

INTRODUCTION: In this study we examined the test-retest reliability of panoramic brightness-mode ultrasound (US) imaging to simultaneously measure both muscle size and quality from a single US image. METHODS: Sixteen healthy, recreationally active men (age = 20.9 ± 2.5 years) volunteered for this investigation. Test-retest reliability was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and the standard error of measurement as a percentage of the mean (SEM%). Muscle size [cross-sectional area (CSA)], and muscle quality [echo intensity (EI)] of the medial gastrocnemius were examined on 2 separate days. RESULTS: These measures demonstrated acceptable reliability between assessment days with ICCs and SEM% of 0.914 and 0.720 and 5.830 and 3.680 for CSA and EI, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that panoramic US imaging may be a reliable technique for simultaneous assessment of both muscle size and quality from a single US scan