Artifacts and Pitfalls in Neuromusculoskeletal Ultrasound

ABSTRACT

Ultrasound is the useful imaging tool in the diagnosis and guided treatment of neuromusculoskeletal disorders. Image artifacts are frequently encountered in clinical ultrasound. Clinicians should be familiar with the basic principles of ultrasound physics and technical skills to diminish artifacts and avoid misinterpretation. Ultrasound artifacts arise secondary to errors related to ultrasound beam characteristics, multiple echo paths, velocity errors and attenuation errors. In this review, we focused on the physics of common artifacts, their clinical significance, and several pitfalls to avoid when performing musculoskeletal sonography.