Data from: A technical note on variable inter-frame interval as a cause of non-physiological experimental artefacts in ultrasound

Ultrasound imaging is a well-recognised technique for the study of static
tissues but its suitability for studying tissue dynamics depends upon
accurate frame time information, which may not always be available to
users. Here we present methods to quantify the inter-frame interval (IFI)
variability, and evaluate different procedures for collecting temporal
information from two ultrasound-imaging devices. The devices tested
exhibited variable IFIs that could only be confirmed by direct measures of
timing signals, available by means of electrical signals (triggers) and/or
temporal information contained in the software used for the ultrasound
data collection. Interpolating frame-by-frame measures of dynamic changes
within image sequences using individual IFI values provided improved
synchronisation between measures of skeletal muscle movement and
activation; validating ultrasound as a valuable technique for the study of
musculoskeletal tissue dynamics, when correctly implemented.

超声成像是学界公认的静态组织研究常用技术，但其应用于组织动态特性研究的适用性，依赖于精准的帧时间信息——而这类信息并非总能为使用者获取。本研究提出了量化帧间间隔（inter-frame interval, IFI）变异性的方法，并评估了从两台超声成像设备中采集时序信息的不同操作流程。本次测试的设备存在可变的帧间间隔，仅能通过直接测量时序信号加以确认：这类信号可通过电信号（触发器）获取，或来自超声数据采集软件内置的时序信息。基于单帧帧间间隔值对图像序列内的动态变化进行逐帧插值，可提升骨骼肌运动与激活状态测量结果间的同步精度；该结果验证了：只要实施规范，超声成像可作为研究肌肉骨骼组织动态特性的可靠技术手段。