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Three dimensional lumbar spine movements measured by MRI reconstruction
Abstract   Peer reviewed

Three dimensional lumbar spine movements measured by MRI reconstruction

S Cargill, Mark Pearcy and Mark D Barry
Journal of Biomechanics, Vol.39(Supplement 1), p.S494
World Congress of Biomechanics (WCB), 5th (Munich, Germany, 29-Jul-2006–04-Aug-2006)
2006
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-9290(06)85021-9
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-9290(06)85021-9View
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Abstract

Biomedical Engineering Human Movement and Sports Science Mechanical Engineering
Intoduction: Biomechanical modelling of the human body requires measurement of the relative positions of skeletal elements. Spinal orientation is particularly difficult to measure due to small joint movements, relative inaccessibility of the bones and joint complexity. This study presents a novel method of accurately determining relative vertebral positions in vivo using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: A process incorporating both positional and conventional MRI was used to determine the skeletal positions of the lumbar spine and pelvis for two subjects. The method uses higher quality conventional MRI to determine bone geometries and then registers these with lower resolution, positional MRI images of various postures to determine the locations of the bones. Using the positional scanner, four postures were investigated: Neutral Standing, Neutral Sitting, Flexed Sitting and Extended Sitting. After segmentation and surface extraction each bone surface was registered with each of the positional scans to produce high quality in vive skeletal position data. Results: The results indicate good intra-measurer reliability with a maximum rotational difference for all vertebral registrations of less than 1 degree and a maximum origin translation of less than 3mm. The pelvic registrations demonstrated larger discrepancies. Flexion/extension, lateral bend and axial twist rotations were measured for each joint and while there did not appear to be patterns between the two subjects, there were obvious trends within each subject In particular, trends of lateral bending throughout sagittal plane motion were identified. Conclusions: The results showed that the technique was able to register the surfaces reliably. The intervertebral movements between postures were within normal ranges of motion and demonstrated kinematic trends within an individual. At present, the greatest disadvantage of the method described lies in its large data processing times. In conclusion, the technique provides a noninvasive method for measuring the three-dimensional anatomy and movement of a specific individual.

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