scholarly journals Atlas-Free Cervical Spinal Cord Segmentation on Midsagittal T2-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Images

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Chih Liao ◽  
Hsien-Wei Ting ◽  
Furen Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Expectation Maximization ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord ◽  
Region Growing ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Images ◽  
Spinal Diseases ◽  
Intervertebral Disks ◽  
Vertebral Bodies ◽  
Aided Diagnosis

An automatic atlas-free method for segmenting the cervical spinal cord on midsagittal T2-weighted magnetic resonance images (MRI) is presented. Pertinent anatomical knowledge is transformed into constraints employed at different stages of the algorithm. After picking up the midsagittal image, the spinal cord is detected using expectation maximization and dynamic programming (DP). Using DP, the anterior and posterior edges of the spinal canal and the vertebral column are detected. The vertebral bodies and the intervertebral disks are then segmented using region growing. Then, the anterior and posterior edges of the spinal cord are detected using median filtering followed by DP. We applied this method to 79 noncontrast MRI studies over a 3-month period. The spinal cords were detected in all cases, and the vertebral bodies were successfully labeled in 67 (85%) of them. Our algorithm had very good performance. Compared to manual segmentation results, the Jaccard indices ranged from 0.937 to 1, with a mean of 0.980 ± 0.014. The Hausdorff distances between the automatically detected and manually delineated anterior and posterior spinal cord edges were both 1.0 ± 0.5 mm. Used alone or in combination, our method lays a foundation for computer-aided diagnosis of spinal diseases, particularly cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

scholarly journals Traumatic Cervical Cord Injury at C3–4 without Radiographic Abnormalities: Correlation of Magnetic Resonance Findings with Clinical Features and Outcome

2002 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Takahashi ◽  
Y Harada ◽  
H Inoue ◽  
K Shimada
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Clinical Features ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Images ◽  
Clinical Severity ◽  
Neurological Involvement ◽  
Sensory Level ◽  
Cord Injury

Purpose. Clinical features and outcomes of 43 patients at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama Rosai Hospital, Okayama, were studied prospectively. These patients were not found to have radiographic abnormalities but magnetic resonance images showed acute cervical spinal cord trauma at the C3–4 disc level. Methods. Magnetic resonance images were analysed at presentation (immediately after the injury) and subsequent follow-up visits (at subacute and chronic stages, respectively) in an attempt to correlate imaging findings to clinical features and outcomes, respectively. Results. The injury mechanism was usually a yper-extension of the cervical spine. The level of neurological involvement was assessed in 9 patients with complete tetraplegia: the motor level was C5 in 6 patients and C4 in 3, whereas the sensory level was C5 in 7 patients, C4 in one, and C3 in one. Respiratory dysfunction in patients with severe paralysis, or numb and clumsy hands in patients with incomplete paralysis were the characteristic clinical features of cervical spinal cord injury at these lesions. Three patterns of signal change on magnetic resonance images were observed in patients with spinal cord injury at C3–4. A low-intensity area on T2-weighted images in the acute stage indicated a poor prognosis, while a high-intensity area at 2 to 3 weeks after injury indicated some degree of permanent paralysis. Conclusion. The serial signal changes of magnetic resonance images and the clinical severity or outcome seemed to be well correlated.

Thoracic spinal iophendylate-induced arachnoiditis mimicking an intramedullary spinal cord neoplasm

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 292-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven W. Hwang ◽  
Rafeeque A. Bhadelia ◽  
Julian Wu
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Unusual Case ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Images ◽  
Intramedullary Spinal Cord ◽  
Intramedullary Lesion ◽  
Thoracic Spinal

✓Iophendylate (Pantopaque or Myodil) was commonly used from the 1940s until the late 1980s for myelography, cisternography, and ventriculography. Although such instances are rare, several different long-term sequelae have been described in the literature and associated with intrathecal iophendylate. The authors describe an unusual case of arachnoiditis caused by residual thoracic iophendylate imitating an expansile intramedullary lesion on magnetic resonance images obtained 30 years after the initial myelographic injection.

scholarly journals Multiple Sclerosis Of The Spinal Cord: Is Gadolinium Irreplaceable In Assessing Lesion Activity?

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 158-161
Author(s):  
Constantina Andrada Treabă ◽  
M Buruian ◽  
Rodica Bălașa ◽  
Maria Daniela Podeanu ◽  
I P Simu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Contrast Enhancement ◽  
Signs And Symptoms ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Images ◽  
Type I ◽  
Focal Lesions ◽  
Spinal Cord Lesions ◽  
Active Lesion

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between the T2 patterns of spinal cord multiple sclerosis lesions and their contrast uptake. Material and method: We retrospectively reviewed the appearance of spinal cord lesions in 29 patients (with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis) who had signs and symptoms of myelopathy on neurologic examination and at least one active lesion visualized on magnetic resonance examinations performed between 2004 and 2011. We correlated the T2 patterns of lesions with contrast enhancement and calculated sensitivity and specificity in predicting gadolinium enhancement. Results: Only focal patterns consisting of a lesion’s center homogenously brighter than its periphery on T2-weighed images (type I) correlated significantly with the presence of contrast enhancement (p = 0.004). Sensitivity was 0.307 and specificity 0.929. In contrast, enhancement was not significantly related to uniformly hyperintense T2 focal lesions (type II) or diffuse (type III) pattern defined as poorly delineated areas of multiple small, confluent, subtle hyperintense T2 lesions (p > 0.5 for both). Conclusions: We believe that information about the activity of multiple sclerosis spinal cord lesions in patients with myelopathy may be extracted not only from contrast enhanced, but also from non-enhanced magnetic resonance images.

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