IMAGING OF EYE-MOVEMENT WITH FAST MRI

Purpose: Imaging of eye movement disorders has so far been restricted to the semifunctional cine mode of CT and MRI. Since real-time imaging of eye movement is necessary to investigate dynamic disorders, the ai m of our study was to implement a fast MR technique to investigate eye movement in a real time mode. Method: Six healthy volunteers and thre e patients suffering from end-point nystagmus were examined with fast MR sequences while performing the following eye movements: holding dif ferent gaze positions, reading a defined text to demonstrate saccadic movements, and holding a primary gaze position and maximal end-point p osition to cause nystagmus when present. Results: In all cases, we wer e able to delineate eye movement with fast MRI. Anatomic and functiona l information could be obtained simultaneously for the first time thro ugh observation of saccadic and pursuit eye movements. Conclusion: Fas t MRI allows for the assessment of dynamic eye movement without the re strictions of cine mode and is able to provide the clinician with addi tional information in the evaluation of functional movement disorders.