Table 3.

Recommendations for reporting SWE methodological methods and results in publications.

PARTICIPANT HISTORY & DEMOGRAPHICS

Report relevant information regarding the study participants, including:

• Number of participants by group, gender/sex, race/ethnicity (and/or report per participant)

• Mean and standard deviation of group height, weight, and body mass index (and/or report per participant)

• Relevant health history (e.g., diagnoses, previous injuries, surgeries/procedures)

• Treatment or therapy (i.e., type, duration, amount)

• Level of physical activity (e.g., typical aerobic and/or strength training activity)

STUDY DESIGN & PROCEDURE

Describe study design, collection procedures, and specify the number of SWE measurements, including:

• Whether study design was cross-sectional or longitudinal, prospective or retrospective, and interventional (e.g., needle EMG, stretching) or non-interventional

• A description of data collection procedures, including when SWE was collected

• Number of total study visits as well as which visits SWE was collected and number of times SWE was collected per visit

• Number of structures examined with SWE per participant, and number of SWE measurements per structure

• Range and/or average depth of SWE measurement per structure

PRE-COLLECTION INFORMATION

Provide any relevant information regarding participant restrictions, routines, or instructions prior to data collection, including:

• Whether participants were asked to avoid exercise, and if so, for how long

• Whether participants were allowed to exercise, and if so, specify type (aerobic versus anaerobic), intensity, and duration of activity as well as when activity occurred

• Any relaxation, warmup, or stretching routine prior to data collection

• Instructions given regarding protocol

ULTRASOUND INFORMATION

Specify all relevant information regarding ultrasound system(s) used in this study, including:

• Number of ultrasound systems used

• Brand and model type of each ultrasound system

• Location of each ultrasound system manufacturer

• Upper limits of ultrasound system (maximum kilopascals and/or meters/second)

PROBE-RELATED INFORMATION

Describe probe-related information for each structure and testing position so that others can easily replicate your setup, including:

• Scanner presets used for imaging (e.g., musculoskeletal, nerve, nerve block)

• Number of probes used

• Probe orientation (e.g., long axis/longitudinal; short axis/transverse) relative to structure, shape (e.g., convex, linear array, superlinear array), and frequency

• Probes used for B-mode versus SWE

• Structures examined with each probe

• Whether unilateral or bilateral SWE measurements were taken

• Whether the dominant or nondominant side was tested, how dominant was defined, and whether that corresponded to the left or right side of each participant

• Anatomical measurement location or site of measurement (e.g., proximal third of lower limb, popliteal fossa, muscle mid-belly)

• How measurement location was identified (e.g., anatomical landmarks) and maintained across measurements (e.g., skin marked)

• Pictures or illustrations of probe location for each structure

• Who (e.g., operator) or what (e.g., custom-made device) held the probe

• Amount of coupling gel/agent used (e.g., copious amount; a gel standoff was created)

• Degree of probe pressure applied

• Upper limits of transducer (frequency, maximum kilopascals and/or meters/second)

OPERATOR TRAINING

Describe the qualifications and relevant SWE experience of all operators, including:

• Number of operators performing measurements

• Degree or role of operator(s) as well as amount of experience using SWE and B-mode ultrasound (e.g., years, number patients)

• Number of collections performed by each operator

TESTING POSITIONS

Describe and provide images of testing position(s) and provide clear, detailed instructions given to participants so others can easily replicate your setup, including:

• Any testing position instructions given

• Number of testing positions

• *Body position (e.g., seated upright or reclined, lying prone or supine, standing)

• *Limb position on bed/table/plinth or in space (e.g., elbow flexed, pronated, resting on abdomen)

• *Joint position (e.g., degrees of flexion/extension, adduction/abduction, pronation/supination, protraction/retraction, inversion/eversion, internally/externally rotated)

• Weight/resistance (e.g., gravity eliminated, anti-gravity, anti-gravity + amount of weight)

• Muscles relaxed or contracted

• Use of equipment to support/hold testing position, ranging from the type of furniture used for body support (e.g., table, bed, chair with or without back support) to what materials were used to hold body parts in place (e.g., non-compliant straps)

• Pictures or illustrations of each testing position

MONITORING MUSCLE ACTIVITY

Describe all relevant factors for monitoring muscle activity, including:

• Room temperature during M collection

• Whether surface EMG was collected during SWE, and if so, which muscle(s) were monitored, and location of placement of surface EMG electrodes

• Process for ensuring that no muscle activity occurred during muscle SWE examination

REGIONS OF INTEREST

Describe region of interest standardization and selection process, including:

• Whether regions of interest were standardized/consistent across participants

• Number, size (range in diameter), and position (e.g., superficial, deep, or at a set depth) of regions of interest acquired from each participant

SWE RESULTS

For each structure and testing position, report relevant information used to obtain the reported shear modulus results, including:

• Algorithms or calculations performed (e.g., averages)

• **Mean and standard deviation of group shear modulus in kilopascals (and/or report per participant)

• **Mean and standard deviation of group shear modulus in meters/second (and/or report per participant)

• If multiple SWE measurements were taken, report reliability (e.g., intra- or inter-class correlation coefficients) and specify intra-day, inter-day, intra-operator, or inter-operator results for:

• each structure

• each testing position

• each depth

^*Note: if provide body, limb, or joint position in degrees, define what is neutral.

^**Note: if provide this data in graph form, provide raw data in table form in supplemental information.

Abbreviations: EMG=electromyography; SWE=shear wave elastography.