Ultrasound Imaging to Characterise Muscle in Spinal Cord Injury
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Ultrasound Image Analysis for Characterisation of the Functional Status of Muscles in Spinal Cord Injury
IRAS ID
235426
Contact name
Henrik Gollee
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 13 days
Research summary
Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes structural changes in skeletal muscle, making accurate assessment of muscle function essential for successfully targeting rehabilitation interventions and assessing their effectiveness. Current techniques, including manual muscle testing (MMT) and electromyography (EMG), are limited by their inability to observe small contractions and distinguish between different muscles. Recent technological advances have made ultrasound imaging (USI) a potential additional tool which can overcome these limitations with high spatial and good temporal resolution. The main aim of this study is to investigate the use of USI as a diagnostic tool to assess muscle function in SCI patients by determining if it can i) detect characteristics of muscles affected by SCI and therefore distinguish them from healthy muscles in an able-bodied control group, ii) differentiate between different stages post injury and iii) assess or predict recovery of muscle function after SCI.
REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/WM/0461
Date of REC Opinion
20 Dec 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion