MRI of Dynamic Cord Deformation and CSF Flow: Effects of Tethering and Compression,and Visualization with Vector Fields

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the spatial-temporal characteristics of spinal cord motion and CSF flow in normal subjects and in cases involving cord compression or tethering and cystic diseases using MRI. MR examinations were conducted in healthy subjects as well as in patients with spinal cord compression, spinal stenosis, myelopathy, cord atrophy, syringomyelia and cystic diseases. Gradient and spin echo phase contrast sequences were used to determine pulsatile motion of the CSF and spinal cord. A new method of displaying the spatial distribution of velocities in the spinal cord and CSF as a vector field superimposed over the corresponding anatomical images was implemented to directly visualize the two dimensional spatial-temporal characteristics of cord motion and CSF flow.

Keywords

CSF MRI functional MRI

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