147793 20260227124019.0 doi 10.3390/jcm13247800 sideral 141270 ART-2024-141270 eng Asadi, Borhan Characterizing Muscle Tissue Quality Post-Stroke: Echovariation as a Clinical Indicator 2024 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted Background/Objectives: Strokes remain a major global health concern, contributing significantly to disability and healthcare costs. Currently, there are no established indicators to accurately assess the degree of muscle tissue impairment in stroke-affected individuals. However, ultrasound imaging with an echotexture analysis shows potential as a quantitative tool to assess muscle tissue quality. This study aimed to identify specific echotexture features in the gastrocnemius medialis that effectively characterize muscle impairment in post-stroke individuals. Methods: An observational study was conducted with 22 post-stroke individuals. A total of 21 echotexture features were extracted and analyzed, including first-order metrics, a grey-level co-occurrence matrix, and a grey-level run length matrix. The modified Heckmatt scale was also applied to correlate with the most informative echotexture features. Results: Among the features analyzed, echovariation (EV), echointensity, and kurtosis emerged as the most informative indicators of muscle tissue quality. The EV was highlighted as the primary feature due to its strong and significant correlation with the modified Heckmatt scale (r = −0.81, p < 0.001) and its clinical and technical robustness. Lower EV values were associated with poorer muscle tissue quality, while higher values indicated better quality. Conclusions: The EV may be used as a quantitative indicator for characterizing the gastrocnemius medialis muscle tissue quality in post-stroke individuals, offering a more nuanced assessment than traditional qualitative scales. Future studies should investigate the correlation between the EV and other clinical outcomes and explore its potential to monitor the treatment efficacy, enhancing its applicability in clinical practice. info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es 2.9 2024 MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL 65 / 332 = 0.196 2024 Q1 T1 0.919 2024 Medicine (miscellaneous) 2024 Q1 5.2 2024 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Pujol-Fuentes, Clara Carcasona-Otal, Alberto Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0009-0003-8000-7084 Calvo, Sandra Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-1674-7788 Herrero, Pablo Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-9201-0120 Lapuente-Hernández, Diego Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-6506-6081 1006 245 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Fisiatría y Enfermería Área Educación Física y Depor. 1006 413 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Fisiatría y Enfermería Área Fisioterapia 13, 24 (2024), 7800 J. clin.med. Journal of Clinical Medicine 2077-0383 2709461 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/147793/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2665309 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/147793/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:147793 articulos driver 2026-02-27-12:39:22 ARTICLE