Automated Breast Volume Scanner (ABVS), a New Automated Ultrasonic Device, Is Useful to Examine Joint Injury in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Shin-ya Kawashiri¹, Takahisa Suzuki², Yoshikazu Nakashima¹, Akitomo Okada², Naoki Iwamoto³, Kunihiro Ichinose⁴, Mami Tamai², Kazuhiko Arima², Hideki Nakamura⁵, Tomoki Origuchi⁶, Masataka Uetani⁷, Kiyoshi Aoyagi⁸ and Atsushi Kawakami¹, ¹Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan, ²Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan, ³Unit of Translational Medicine, Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan, ⁴Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Unit of Translational Medicine, Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan, ⁵Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan, ⁶Department of Health Sciences, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan, ⁷Department of Radiology and Radiation Research, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan, ⁸Department of Public Health, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan

Meeting: 2012 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

Keywords: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), synovitis and ultrasound

Session Information

Title: Imaging of Rheumatic Diseases: Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Computed Tomography and X-ray

Session Type: Abstract Submissions (ACR)

Background/Purpose:

Automated Breast Volume Scanner (ABVS) is an ultrasonic device to be developed for the automated scanning for mammary glands. We have tried to explore the clinical application of ABVS toward the synovial lesion in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods:

Ten active RA patients of mean 54 y.o., whose mean disease duration 15 months and DAS28-ESR 5.69, were recruited. Patients gave their informed consent to be subjected to the protocol that was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Nagasaki University. We have examined in total 100 metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints as well as 20 wrist joints at dorsal sites by both ABVS (ACUSON S2000) and conventional ultrasonography (US) at the same day consecutively. ABVS was scanned in a water tank. Presence of synovial hypertrophy and bone erosion by gray-scale were examined by both methods, and the association of both methods was calculated by kappa coefficient.

Results:

The scanning time of ABVS was 2 min per patient and that of conventional US was 15 min per patient, respectively. ABVS detected synovial hypertrophy in 10 MCP joints and 13 wrist joints whereas conventional US detected synovial hypertrophy in 11 MCP joints and 13 wrist joints. Kappa coefficient of synovial hypertrophy was 0.84 in MCP joints and 0.78 in wrist joints, respectively. ABVS detected bone erosion in 2 MCP joints and 5 wrist joints whereas conventional US detected bone erosion in 5 MCP joints and 6 wrist joints. Kappa coefficient of bone erosion was 0.56 in MCP joints and 0.90 in wrist joints, respectively.

Conclusion:

Present data have shown a substantial agreement of ABVS with conventional US to find the synovial hypertrophy and bone erosion of wrist and finger joints in patients with RA. Since ABVS is able to scan the wrist and finger joints automatically in a short time, ABVS is a helpful new ultrasonic method to examine joint injury in patients with RA.

Disclosure:

S. Y. Kawashiri,
None;

T. Suzuki,
None;

Y. Nakashima,
None;

A. Okada,
None;

N. Iwamoto,
None;

K. Ichinose,
None;

M. Tamai,
None;

K. Arima,
None;

H. Nakamura,
None;

T. Origuchi,
None;

M. Uetani,
None;

K. Aoyagi,
None;

A. Kawakami,
None.

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