Study of asymmetry of the spine and lower limbs

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Study of anatomical and functional asymmetry of the spine and lower limbs in health and disease

  • IRAS ID

    305358

  • Contact name

    Alister Hart

  • Contact email

    alister.hart@nhs.net

  • Sponsor organisation

    Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    3 years, 0 months, days

  • Research summary

    Symmetry of left and right limbs is assumed, but poorly documented in the literature. Orthopaedic surgeons strive for symmetry in lower extremity reconstruction, and they often compare side to side in outcome studies. However, it is important to identify if differences in magnitude of asymmetry of biomechanical variables that exist within and between patients lead to disease in the lower limbs, if hip and knee surgery improve patient anatomical and functional symmetry. The aim of this study is to improve the understanding of anatomical and functional asymmetry of the spine and lower limbs in adults to aid diagnosis and treatment.
    The study will be conducted at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Brockley Hill, Stanmore, HA7 4LP, UK. Patient recruitment, data collection and analysis will be performed on site. The study participants will be patients of Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital who have previously been admitted to this hospital for medical examinations and/or surgery. Patient imaging data will be retrieved from hospital databases. Participants will be consented for their imaging to be used for research purposes (only retrospective use of imaging data), including imaging data evaluation and analysis.
    Pseudo-anonymised cross-sectional and biplanar imaging, diagnostic and presurgical, intra-operative and post-operative imaging will be used to reconstruct the anatomy of the study patients for qualitative and quantitative characterisation. Software-enhanced radiological measurements will be used for computational analysis including statistical modelling to improve the understanding of anatomical and functional asymmetry of the lower limbs to aid diagnosis and treatment.

  • REC name

    London - London Bridge Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    21/PR/1467

  • Date of REC Opinion

    18 Jan 2022

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion