New simple and effective methods are needed to better evaluate the outcomes of repair using nerve conduits in vivo.

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This is an ultrasound image of the morphology of a chitosan nerve conduit in a rat model of sciatic nerve defects at three weeks after modeling.
Credit: Neural Regeneration Research

Ultrasound is a common noninvasive clinical detection modality that has been used in many fields. However, ultrasound has only rarely been used to observe implanted nerve conduits in vivo.

Hongkui Wang and co-workers from Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University report the first use of ultrasound to noninvasively observe the changes in chitosan nerve conduits implanted in rats over time.

The ultrasound imaging clearly showed whether there are unsatisfactory complications after implantation, such as fracture, collapse, bleeding, or unusual swelling of the nerve conduits; and reflected the degradation mode of the nerve conduit in vivo over time.

Ultrasound, as a noninvasive imaging modality, can be used as a supplementary observation method during conventional animal experiments on peripheral nerve tissue engineering.

The relevant study has been published in Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 9, No. 14, 2014).

Article: " Ultrasound imaging of chitosan nerve conduits that bridge sciatic nerve defects in rats," by Xiaoyang Chen2, Yifei Yin2, Tingting Zhang2, Yahong Zhao3, Yumin Yang3, Xiaomei Yu2, Hongkui Wang1, 3 (1 School of Biology and Basic Medical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China; 2 Department of Doppler Ultrasound, Afliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China; 3 Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China)

Chen XY, Yin YF, Zhang TT, Zhao YH, Yang YM, Yu XM, Wang HK. Ultrasound imaging of chitosan nerve conduits that bridge sciatic nerve defects in rats. Neural Regen Res. 2014;9(14):1386-1388.