Shear wave elastography (SWE) can be helpful in the diagnosis of erectile dysfunction (ED).
Method: the speed of ultrasonic waves in a tissue are measured and used to calculation the Young modulus of the tissue, which is directly related to the stiffness of the tissue.
In general, the SWE of the erect penis was lower in men with erectile dysfunction. Turkay et al reported a value < 17.1 kPa in patients with ED, with a sensitivity of 94% and specificity of 34%. The ED group had SWE 20.94 +/- 6.23 kPa and the normal erectile group had an SWE 24.6 +/- 7.58 kPa. This gives an overlap group from 17.1 to 27.17 kPa. A value >= 27.2 indicates a condition other than erectile dysfunction.
Patients with vascular ED have higher elasticity of the central corpus cavernosum compared to nonvascular ED (Lee et al).
The SWE of the corpus cavernosum increased in patients with venogenic ED after intracavernous injection (Cui et al).
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