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Researchers

Here are some of the leading researchers contributing to the development of a strong scientific foundation with the MyotonPRO palpation device:

MyotonPRO users in 50+ countries

Scientific validations

The results obtained show that the MyotonPRO has a good to excellent intra-rater and inter-rater reliability for measuring the tone, stiffness, and elasticity of the deltoid, biceps brachii, triceps brachii, and upper trapezius muscles in patients with chronic stroke. The findings demonstrated that the MyotonPRO is a reliable and repeatable tool for quantifying the muscle mechanical properties in stroke patients. The MyotonPRO can be used for the diagnostic and therapeutic intentions.

Serkan Tas et al. – MyotonPRO is a reliable and repeatable tool for measuring mechanical properties of the upper limp muscles in patients with chronic stroke; Nature – Scientific Reports, April 2021, Preprint, article in press

Highlights

  • There are currently no validated tools available in clinical practice to objectively measure a trigger point.
  • The MyotonPRO is a portable non-invasive tool providing quantitative assessment of a muscle’s viscoelastic properties.
  • The metrological properties of the MyotonPRO for measuring the viscoelasticity of a trigger point have not been reported.
  • The MyotonPRO could discriminate the viscoelasticity of an infraspinatus trigger point from that of a non-trigger point.
  • Excellent intra- and inter-evaluator reliability for assessing viscoelasticity of an infraspinatus trigger point was observed.

The MyotonPRO can discriminate the viscoelastic properties of a TP from an NTP located in the infraspinatus of individuals presenting with chronic, non-traumatic shoulder pain. The MyotonPRO is a reliable, affordable and portable tool that can objectively measure these properties in a clinical setting or for research purposes. This is an important breakthrough in the evaluation and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions associated with the presence of TPs, because as evidenced by Shah et al. (2015), theories surrounding the pathogenesis, pathophysiology, and contribution of TPs in the diagnosis of myofascial pain syndrome have so far been mainly speculative.

Melanie Roch et al. – The MyotonPRO: A reliable tool for quantifying the viscoelastic properties of a trigger point on the infraspinatus in non-traumatic chronic shoulder pain; Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies, Volume 24 (2020) pages 379-385

 

Dynamic stiffness, measured longitudinally with the MyotonPRO, is able to identify clinically important changes in disease.

This preliminary study encourages the use of Myoton for tracking the clinical course of sclerotic cGVHD. A larger study with longer follow-up and standardized measurement protocol is necessary to assess the accuracy of skin biomechanical measurements as a longitudinal biomarker. Eventually, this method could complement the qualitative maneuvers that clinicians currently perform to assess sclerosis and enhance clinical disease management.

Laura X.Baker et al. – Longitudinal tracking of skin dynamic stiffness to quantify evolution of sclerosis in chronic graft-versus-host disease: a preliminary study; Nature – Bone Marrow Transplantation, Volume 56, pages 989–991(2021)

 

In summary, all different probes of MyotonPRO have the ability to assess the stiffness of relevant tissues. Hence, MyotonPRO can be initially considered as a reliable device for measuring stiffness of biological tissues including skin tissue.  We hope that our pioneering research is the first step to validate as a skin biomechanical properties assessment device that will contribute to its wider use in the future.

Katarzyna Rosicka et al. – Comparison of different MyotonPRO probes for skin stiffness evaluation in young women; Skin Research & Technology – October 2020, 00:1–8

 

Our study demonstrated the eficacy of incobotulinumtoxin A in the treatment of the bilateral adductor magnus spasticity in patients with ALS and no response to oral antispastic drugs. In the near future the clinical monitoring of patients is planned with myometric measurements after the subsequent infiltrations. We also plan to increase number of patients to obtain more information aboutthe eficacy of BTX-A in the spasticity of these patients.

Riccardo Marvulli et al. – Botulinum Toxin Type A and Physiotherapy in Spasticity of the Lower Limbs Due to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; Toxins 2019, 11(7), 381

Highlights

  • MyotonPRO is a reliable tool to assess gastrocnemius stiffness in weightbearing.
  • A single measure of the MyotonPRO is reliable.
  • Individuals receiving manual therapy demonstrated changes in muscle stiffness

Our results demonstrated excellent reliability of measuring the gastrocnemius muscle in a weightbearing contracted state with all ICC point estimates greater than 0.898. These findings are consistent with those of other studies that generally show very high reliability of muscle stiffness measures using the MyotonPRO. We have found the MyotonPRO to be a fairly simple and user-friendly device with automatic controls of some of the issues that likely would result in additional measurement error. For instance, the device only allows measurements to be taken when the device is approximately 90° from the measured surface and when a specified pre-load is applied. In addition, both the current study and Kelly et al. found similarly high reliability when using a single measurement and an average of three values, suggesting that one measure may be sufficient for both clinical and research use.

Stephanie R. Albin et al. – The effect of manual therapy on gastrocnemius muscle stiffness in healthy individuals; The Foot, Volume 38, March 2019, Pages 70-75

In conclusion, the MyotonPRO device has excellent reliability for quantifying stiffness, tone, and elasticity of the PM, UT, and SCM muscles in patients with breast cancer. There was a significant difference only in the muscle properties of the PM between the affected and unaffected sides. MyotonPRO can be utilized in breast cancer patients with upper arm morbidity, especially pectoralis tightness.

Seung Mi Yeo et al. – Mechanical Properties of Muscles around the Shoulder in Breast Cancer Patients: Intra-rater and Inter-rater Reliability of the MyotonPRO; The Journal of Injury, Function and Rehabilitation – April 2020, Volume12, Issue 4, Pages 374-381

In this study, we investigated the feasibility of using an affordable tool to rapidly and directly measure cutaneous sclerosis in cGVHD patients. We employed the MyotonPRO, a commercially available, non-invasive handheld device developed to measure muscle biomechanical properties. It has been applied in diverse fields, but has not yet been used in dermal disorders. Our results demonstrate that the MyotonPRO can objectively distinguish between healthy subjects and cGVHD patients with severe sclerosis.

Fuyao Chen et al. – Non-invasive measurement of sclerosis in cutaneous cGVHD patients with the handheld device Myoton: a cross-sectional study; Nature – Bone Marrow Transplantation – October 2018, Volume 54, 616–619(2019)

Consequently, there is no valid, reliable, and practical instrument that can record muscle tone in a clinical setting. Given that the prevalence of strokes are rising every year, there is an urgency to identify a reliable method to quantify changes in muscles tone in stroke patients. The reliability of MyotonPRO, when used in a clinical setting, must first be established if it was to be recommended as a clinical outcome measure to monitor the effects of interventions. This present study demonstrates that MyotonPRO has acceptable between-days intra-rater reliability in measuring muscle tone in a ward setting. Agreement between measurements is acceptable, while measurement error is comparable with the existing literature. One must be cautious when interpreting the results due to the limitations of the study.

Wai Leung Ambrose Lo et al. – Between-days intra-rater reliability with a hand held myotonometer to quantify muscle tone in the acute stroke population; Nature – Scientific Reports, Volume 7, Article 14173 (2017)