Spatial-dependent mechanical properties of the heel pad by shear wave elastography

Che-Yu Lin; Pei-Yu Chen; Yio-Wha Shau; Hao-Chih Tai; Chung-Li Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2017.01.004

Spatial-dependent mechanical properties of the heel pad by shear wave elastography

J Biomech. 2017 Feb 28:53:191-195. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2017.01.004. Epub 2017 Jan 6.

Authors

Che-Yu Lin¹, Pei-Yu Chen², Yio-Wha Shau³, Hao-Chih Tai⁴, Chung-Li Wang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 1, Ren-Ai Road, Taipei 10051, Taiwan.
² Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 1, Ren-Ai Road, Taipei 10051, Taiwan; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7, Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei 10043, Taiwan.
³ Institute of Applied Mechanics, College of Engineering, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 10617, Taiwan; Biomedical Technology and Device Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, No. 195, Section 4, Chung-Hsing Road, Chutung, Hsinchu 31040, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, 7 Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 1, Ren-Ai Road, Taipei 10051, Taiwan; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7, Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei 10043, Taiwan. Electronic address: chungli@ntu.edu.tw.

PMID: 28087063
DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2017.01.004

Abstract

The heel pad plays an important role in gait, and its biomechanical behavior and functionality are determined by its specialized architecture and mechanical properties. The purpose of this study was to apply supersonic shear wave elastography, an ultrasound-based noninvasive modality that can quantitatively estimate the shear stiffness of the tissue, to investigate the spatial-dependent mechanical properties of the heel pad. Measurements were conducted in 40 heel pads of 20 normal participants aged between 20 and 30 years by shear wave elastography. The continuous change in local shear stiffness of the heel pad along the depth direction of the heel pad was measured. The result showed that the mechanical properties of the heel pad were highly heterogeneous but followed a simple and specific pattern that local heel pad shear stiffness was highest beneath the plantar skin and decreased continuously with increasing depth. This finding provides a better understanding of the heel pad biomechanics and basis for further investigation of the heterogeneous properties of the heel pad.

Keywords: Heel pad; Heterogeneous; Mechanical properties; Shear wave elastography; Stiffness.

MeSH terms

Adult
Elasticity Imaging Techniques
Female
Heel / physiology*
Humans
Male
Skin Physiological Phenomena
Young Adult