Cervical Foraminal Stenosis: Volumetric MRI in Healthy Volunteers
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Assessing Cervical Foraminal Stenosis: Volumetric MRI study in Healthy Volunteers
IRAS ID
272604
Contact name
James Meacock
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN00038621
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Currently standard MRI scans for trapped nerves in the neck are performed using sequential horizontal and vertical cuts through the spine separated by 2 or 3 millimeters. However the nerves travel in a canal that is neither in the horizontal or vertical plane and the nerve itself is 2 to 3 mm in diameter. Consequently nerve root compression can be rather poorly demonstrated on standard MRI sequences. Furthermore the currently published scoring systems are not well validated and therefore rarely used in clinical practice.
We will be using standard MRI techniques in a modified plane to image the nerves in the neck at high resolution as they leave the spine. The scans will be angled so that they cut exactly along and across the nerve canal. We will use healthy volunteers to develop the technique – the changes are so common that almost all asymptomatic healthy volunteers will have some degenerative neck disease.
We will also develop a scoring system based on the modified plane MRI scans and measure its reliability by comparing the scores of 6 different observers. We will measure these variables for the established, published scoring techniques that use standard MRI sequences and we will compare the modified plane MRI scans with standard MRI scans to establish which is better.
Once we have established the optimal way to perform and score these MRI scans we will be able to build on this project by applying the newly developed techniques to patients being considered for surgical intervention. We expect that the new technique will permit better selection of patients for surgery and inform decisions on whether to perform surgery from the front or from the back of the neck.
REC name
South East Scotland REC 02
REC reference
20/SS/0095
Date of REC Opinion
9 Oct 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion