臨床上，常發現阿基里斯肌腱因斷裂或張力過強而需進行手術，以及過度使用造成發炎者之案例。對於患者手術後之評估，以及發炎恢復情形，目前大都依靠臨床醫師個人之經驗，臨床尚無可用之量化的參數可作為輔助診斷之依據。在本研究中，將利用實驗室超音波設備，並搭配特定探頭的選擇，量測阿基里斯腱超音波參數BUA及SOS，針對阿基里斯腱的機械特性來做探討。希望能從其中找出超音波量化參數與阿基里斯腱強度之相關性，畢竟對於病患或醫師而言，治療或手術後之阿基里斯腱其機械特性是否能夠回復到未受傷前之狀況，才是他們最關心的。
本研究第一部分是建立濕式阿基里斯腱量測系統。利用正常骨與疏鬆骨假體評估系統的精確度，結果顯示高準確度。利用不同的探頭來測試，顯示不同的探頭具有不同的SOS與BUA測定值，於量測不同成份的假體仍可以分辨出其差異。且不同的探頭具有不同的BUA線性選取範圍，0.5MHz與0.7MHz則接近中心頻率，0.25MHz與1.0MHz則分別為偏向中心頻率右方與左方。第二部分針對人體阿基里斯腱，在未拉伸狀態下與拉伸狀態下的BUA值做探討，利用聚焦式5MHz的探頭來量測，其BUA值分別為13.55±0.39dB/MHz與20.61±1.53dB/MHz；利用平面式5MHz的探頭來量測，其BUA值分別為10.86±0.53dB/MHz與19.01±0.79dB/MHz，顯示在拉伸狀態下具有較高的BUA值。豬腱在未拉伸狀態下，具有比較低的BUA值，在拉伸狀態下，BUA值有隨著拉力而增加的趨勢。豬腱未拉伸之BUA值為11.63±0.58dB/MHz；拉力在1.5kg下，BUA值為18.81±0.79dB/MHz，顯示在高張力具有高BUA值。

When Achilles tendon is overstretched, it might cause rupture or inflammation. The usual treatment of a completely ruptured Achilles tendon is surgery. Currently, post-operative evaluations are highly dependent on clinical experience of a doctor. A quantitative assessment of Achilles tendon is useful to assist doctors in clinical diagnosis. In this study, we used a quantitative ultrasonic system (QUS) to estimate the ultrasonic parameters including broadband ultrasonic attenuation (BUA) and speed of sound (SOS) of tendons. The relations between ultrasonic parameters and Achilles tendon strength were found to be tightly correlated.
In the first experiment, the accuracy and reliability of the system developed in our laboratory were evaluated by using a 0.5MHz focused transducer for testing normal and osteoporosis phantoms. It demonstrated great accuracy and reliability that the measured values were very consistent to the data supplied by the phantom manufacturer. In the second experiment, various transducers with different central frequencies, including 0.25MHz, 0.5MHz, 0.7MHz, and 1MHz, have been used to test the phantoms. It was found that different transducers tend to have different estimated SOS and BUA values and demonstrate different linear BUA frequency ranges.
In the third experiment, we used ultrasonic transducers with 5MHz and 0.5MHz central frequencies, respectively, to study characteristics of human and pig tendons. The results showed that the measured BUA values using 5MHz focal transducer for non-tensile and tensile human tendons were 13.35±0.39dB/MHz and 20.61±1.53dB/MHz, respectively, while the measured BUA values were 10.86±0.53dB/MHz and 19.01±0.79dB/MHz for non-tensile and tensile Achilles tendons, respectively, using 5MHz flat transducer,. On the other hand, the BUA values obtained using 0.5MHz focal transducer for measuring non-tensile and tensile pig tendon werer 11.63±0.58dB/MHz and 18.81±0.79dB/MHz, respectively. The results also demonstrated that an increase in BUA coefficients for human or pig tendon is approximately linearly proportional to the stretching force orthogonally to the beam axis.

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