Assessment of the Cervix in Pregnant Women Using Shear Wave Elastography: A Feasibility Study.

The quantitative assessment of the cervix is crucial for the estimation of pre-term delivery risk and the prediction of the success of labor induction. We conducted a cross-sectional study using shear wave elastography based on the supersonic shear imaging technique. The shear wave speed (SWS) of the lower anterior part of the cervix was quantified over an 8-mm region of interest in 157 pregnant women. Cervical SWS is slightly but significantly reduced in patients diagnosed with pre-term labor and in patients who actually delivered pre-term.

[1]  M. Fink,et al.  Quantitative viscoelasticity mapping of human liver using supersonic shear imaging: preliminary in vivo feasibility study. , 2009, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[2]  S. Wojcinski,et al.  Acoustic radiation force impulse imaging with virtual touch tissue quantification: measurements of normal breast tissue and dependence on the degree of pre-compression. , 2013, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[3]  K. Parker,et al.  Sonoelasticity of organs: shear waves ring a bell , 1992, Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.

[4]  S. Hassan,et al.  Evaluation of cervical stiffness during pregnancy using semiquantitative ultrasound elastography , 2013, Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

[5]  Ole Gemeinhardt,et al.  Real-time sonoelastography of the cervix: tissue elasticity of the normal and abnormal cervix. , 2007, Academic radiology.

[6]  Mathieu Couade,et al.  Noninvasive in vivo liver fibrosis evaluation using supersonic shear imaging: a clinical study on 113 hepatitis C virus patients. , 2011, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[7]  D. Cabrol,et al.  Interleukin-1beta induces glycosaminoglycan synthesis via the prostaglandin E2 pathway in cultured human cervical fibroblasts. , 2003, Molecular human reproduction.

[8]  W. Svensson,et al.  Shear-wave elastography improves the specificity of breast US: the BE1 multinational study of 939 masses. , 2012, Radiology.

[9]  E. Thom,et al.  The length of the cervix and the risk of spontaneous premature delivery. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal Fetal Medicine Unit Network. , 1996, The New England journal of medicine.

[10]  M. Fink,et al.  Supersonic shear imaging: a new technique for soft tissue elasticity mapping , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control.

[11]  S. Kōzuma,et al.  Tissue elastography imaging of the uterine cervix during pregnancy , 2007, Journal of Medical Ultrasonics.

[12]  Thomas Deffieux,et al.  Quantitative assessment of breast lesion viscoelasticity: initial clinical results using supersonic shear imaging. , 2008, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[13]  R. Schmitz,et al.  Quantitative cervical elastography in pregnancy , 2012, Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

[14]  R. Romero,et al.  Effect of depth on shear-wave elastography estimated in the internal and external cervical os during pregnancy , 2014, Journal of perinatal medicine.

[15]  K. Nicolaides,et al.  Quantification of cervical elastography: a reproducibility study , 2012, Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

[16]  M. Bajka,et al.  Cervical softening occurs early in pregnancy: characterization of cervical stiffness in 100 healthy women using the aspiration technique , 2013, Prenatal diagnosis.

[17]  T. Hall,et al.  Estimation of shear wave speed in the human uterine cervix , 2014, Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

[18]  Mickael Tanter,et al.  Sonic boom in soft materials: The elastic Cerenkov effect , 2004 .

[19]  T J Hall,et al.  Quantitative imaging of the cervix: setting the bar , 2013, Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

[20]  Shawn M. Sweeney,et al.  Mapping the Ligand-binding Sites and Disease-associated Mutations on the Most Abundant Protein in the Human, Type I Collagen* , 2002, The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

[21]  T. Hall,et al.  Comparison of shear wave speed estimates in Ex vivo non-pregnant vs. In vivo pregnant cervix , 2014, 2014 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium.

[22]  M. Parra-Saavedra,et al.  Prediction of preterm birth using the cervical consistency index , 2011, Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

[23]  F. Facchinetti,et al.  Changes in the cervical competence in preterm labour , 2005, BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology.

[24]  F. Glorieux,et al.  Collagen changes in the human uterine cervix at parturition. , 1978, American journal of obstetrics and gynecology.

[25]  D. Cabrol,et al.  Variations in the distribution of glycosaminoglycans in the uterine cervix of the pregnant woman. , 1980, European journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology.

[26]  Katherine Luby-Phelps,et al.  Second harmonic generation imaging as a potential tool for staging pregnancy and predicting preterm birth. , 2010, Journal of biomedical optics.

[27]  M. Bajka,et al.  A novel procedure for the mechanical characterization of the uterine cervix during pregnancy. , 2013, Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials.

[28]  Kazimierz T. Szopinski,et al.  Shear Wave Elastography May Add a New Dimension to Ultrasound Evaluation of Thyroid Nodules: Case Series with Comparative Evaluation , 2012, Journal of thyroid research.

[29]  R. Romero,et al.  Ultrasonographic examination of the uterine cervix is better than cervical digital examination as a predictor of the likelihood of premature delivery in patients with preterm labor and intact membranes. , 1994, American journal of obstetrics and gynecology.

[30]  Mickael Tanter,et al.  Viscoelastic shear properties of in vivo breast lesions measured by MR elastography. , 2005, Magnetic resonance imaging.

[31]  J Bercoff,et al.  Acoustoelasticity in soft solids: assessment of the nonlinear shear modulus with the acoustic radiation force. , 2007, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[32]  David O. Cosgrove,et al.  Shear wave elastography for breast masses is highly reproducible , 2011, European Radiology.

[33]  M. Jabareen,et al.  Assessment of the in vivo biomechanical properties of the human uterine cervix in pregnancy using the aspiration test: a feasibility study. , 2009, European journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology.

[34]  K. Nicolaides,et al.  In vivo assessment of the biomechanical properties of the uterine cervix in pregnancy , 2014, Prenatal diagnosis.

[35]  G. Trahey,et al.  Shear-wave generation using acoustic radiation force: in vivo and ex vivo results. , 2003, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[36]  K. Preis,et al.  Elastography of the uterine cervix: implications for success of induction of labor , 2011, Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

[37]  M. Tanter,et al.  Quantitative imaging of nonlinear shear modulus by combining static elastography and shear wave elastography , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control.

[38]  N. Uldbjerg,et al.  Cervical Stiffness Evaluated In Vivo by Endoflip in Pregnant Women , 2014, PloS one.

[39]  N. Uldbjerg,et al.  Collagen concentration and biomechanical properties of samples from the lower uterine cervix in relation to age and parity in non-pregnant women , 2010, Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E.

[40]  H. Honest,et al.  Screening to prevent spontaneous preterm birth: systematic reviews of accuracy and effectiveness literature with economic modelling. , 2009, Health technology assessment.

[41]  L. Keith,et al.  Precocious cervical ripening as a screening target to predict spontaneous preterm delivery among asymptomatic singleton pregnancies: a systematic review. , 2015, American journal of obstetrics and gynecology.

[42]  N. Melamed,et al.  Predictive Value of Cervical Length in Women With Threatened Preterm Labor , 2013, Obstetrics and gynecology.

[43]  P. Curtis,et al.  The accuracy of digital examination and ultrasound in the evaluation of cervical length. , 1992 .

[44]  L. Junqueira,et al.  Morphologic and histochemical evidence for the occurrence of collagenolysis and for the role of neutrophilic polymorphonuclear leukocytes during cervical dilation. , 1980, American journal of obstetrics and gynecology.

[45]  J. Crane,et al.  Transvaginal sonographic measurement of cervical length to predict preterm birth in asymptomatic women at increased risk: a systematic review , 2008, Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

[46]  T. Hall,et al.  Beyond cervical length: emerging technologies for assessing the pregnant cervix. , 2012, American journal of obstetrics and gynecology.

[47]  N. Uldbjerg,et al.  Identification of biomechanical properties in vivo in human uterine cervix. , 2014, Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials.

[48]  P. Milart,et al.  Elastography in predicting preterm delivery in asymptomatic, low-risk women: a prospective observational study , 2014, BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.