More articles from SPINE IMAGING AND SPINE IMAGE-GUIDED INTERVENTIONS
- Localizing the L5 Vertebra Using Nerve Morphology on MRI: An Accurate and Reliable Technique
The authors sought to determine whether the L5 vertebra could be accurately localized by using nerve morphology on MR imaging. A sample of 108 cases with full spine MR imaging were numbered from the C2 vertebral body to the sacrum. The reference standard of numbering by full spine imaging was compared with the nerve morphology numbering method with 5 blinded raters. The percentage of perfect agreement with the reference standard was 98.1%, which was preserved in transitional and numeric variation states. The iliolumbar ligament localization method showed 83.3% perfect agreement with the reference standard.
- Clinically Feasible Microstructural MRI to Quantify Cervical Spinal Cord Tissue Injury Using DTI, MT, and T2*-Weighted Imaging: Assessment of Normative Data and Reliability
Forty healthy subjects underwent T2WI, DTI, magnetization transfer, and T2*WI at 3T in <35 minutes using standard hardware and pulse sequences. Cross-sectional area, fractional anisotropy, magnetization transfer ratio, and T2*WI WM/GM signal intensity ratio were calculated. Reliable multiparametric assessment of spinal cord microstructure is possible by using clinically suitable methods. These results establish normalization procedures and pave the way for clinical studies.