C. Funk et al., FUNCTIONAL MRT OF THE LUMBAR SPINE IN THE OPEN MAGNET SYSTEM - FIRST RESULTS, RoFo. Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der Rontgenstrahlen und der neuenbildgebenden Verfahren, 169(1), 1998, pp. 27-32
Citations number
25
Categorie Soggetti
Radiology,Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Journal title
RoFo. Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der Rontgenstrahlen und der neuenbildgebenden Verfahren
Purpose: Description of the procedure and first results with functiona
l MRI of the lumbar spine for the investigation of discoligamentous in
stability. Material and method: 21 patients -11 female and 10 male - w
ere studied with rapid True-FISP- and FLASH sequences. With the intent
ion to document movements in maximal ante- and retroflexion a special
kidney belt was used containing an inserted multi-purpose flexible coi
l. With this approach reproducible functional studies can be obtained.
Results: Movements in ante- and retroflexion could be performed manua
lly and gradually without technical limitation of restrictions due to
the equipment. The location of a patient's pain was determined by indi
cation from the patient and correlated with the finding on the functio
nal MR images. In 71% of patients a gain of information was obtained w
ith regard to discoligamentous instability of the lumbar spine when co
mpared to earlier studies (CT, MRI in neutral position). Conclusions:
Functional MRI of the lumbar spine can contribute additional segmental
information and contribute to further therapy planning. With this met
hod discoligamentous instability can be documented, which is less like
ly with static MRI in a closed MR system.