Quantitative and qualitative sonographic evaluation of the carpal tunnel in equines

• Grant number: 11/16052-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: May 01, 2012
• End date: June 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Carlos Vulcano
• Grantee: Felipe Carvalho Evangelista
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In horses, the diseases of the carpal tunnel are predominantly seen in racing and high performance sport animals. The main disease that affects the equine carpal is the syndrome of carpal tunnel, which is characterized by a compression of soft tissues in the carpal canal, that can be caused by tendinitis of the flexor tendons, synovitis of the tendon sheath or osteochondrosis of the distal radio. This syndrome has been rarely diagnosed in horses due to two factors, the first is the difficulty of carrying out the ultrasound examination in the region and the second is due to the shortage of related studies. Given to the above, this study aims to characterize qualitatively and quantitatively the normal pattern of echogenicity, echotexture and dimensions of the superfici al digital flexor tendon, deep digital flexor tendon and tendon of the flexor carpi radial in the region of the carpal tunnel through ultrasound B-mode and histogram of the program Photoshop CS4®. Furthermore, attempts to assess the wave spectrum and measure the index of the resistivity and pulsatility index of the median and radial arteries by Doppler ultrasound. So, it is expected to standardize the sonographic features and dopplerfluxometrics structures of the carpal tunnel in order to assist the diagnosis of conditions affecting the site of the median and radial arteries by Doppler ultrasound. So that it is expected to standardize the sonographic features and dopplerfluxometrics structures of the carpal tunnel in order to assist in the diagnosis of affections that appear in the local.