Naoko Takamatsu, MT, Receives ANF's 2025 Technologist Best Abstract Award
Published August 10, 2025
Naoko Takamatsu is the recipient of this year’s Technologist Best Abstract award. Her research addresses muscle US imaging and highlights how adjusting the angle of a US probe may reveal new visual clues for diagnosing muscle diseases such as myositis. Though the brightness of US images is often relied on to assess muscle health, interpreting these images can be subjective and challenging, especially for less experienced examiners. Seeking a more accessible technique, Ms. Takamatsu explored how tilting the US probe changes the appearance of muscle tissue.
“When performing muscle ultrasound, the angle of the probe is basically perpendicular to the skin surface, but when I tried tilting the probe, I found that while the brightness of healthy muscles decreased uniformly, in the case of myositis patients, high-brightness spots remained in some areas,” she said. The research suggests that, as semi-quantitative and quantitative methods of muscle brightness are being considered, the technician’s eyes may still be the most accurate. She believes increasing the number of skilled muscle US examiners will help with diagnosis and positively affect patients.
“When performing muscle ultrasound, the angle of the probe is basically perpendicular to the skin surface, but when I tried tilting the probe, I found that while the brightness of healthy muscles decreased uniformly, in the case of myositis patients, high-brightness spots remained in some areas,” she said. The research suggests that, as semi-quantitative and quantitative methods of muscle brightness are being considered, the technician’s eyes may still be the most accurate. She believes increasing the number of skilled muscle US examiners will help with diagnosis and positively affect patients.
Ms. Takamatsu hopes this work and the award will bring greater awareness to her country. “I have been working on neuromuscular ultrasound for many years, but it is still not widespread in Japan. I hope that this award will help spread this field even further.” While she does not feel confident in her English-speaking abilities, she looks forward to meeting researchers at the AANEM Annual Meeting this fall and discussing NMUS.
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