• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.265-268
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• 2009

Two cases of dynamic lumbar spinal stenosis were identified by the authors using axial loaded magnetic resonance image (MRI). In both cases, the patients presented with neurogenic claudication but MRI in decumbency showed no definite pathologic condition associated with their symptoms. In contrast, axial loaded MRI demonstrated constrictive spinal stenosis and a significantly decreased dural sac caused by epidural fat buckling and thickening of the ligamentum flavum in both cases. In the second case, a more prominent disc protrusion was also demonstrated compared with decumbent MRI. After decompressive surgery, both patients had satisfactory outcomes. Axial loaded MRI can therefore give decisive information in dynamic spinal disorders by allowing simulation of an upright position.

• Korean Journal of Computational Design and Engineering
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.436-442
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• 2012

Traumatic loading during car accidents or sports activities can lead to cervical spinal cord injury. Experiments in spinal cord injury research are mainly carried out on rabbit or rat. Finite element models that include the rat cervical spinal cord and adjacent soft tissues should be developed for efficient studies of mechanisms of spinal cord injury. Images of a rat were obtained from high resolution MRI scanner. Polygonal surfaces were extracted structure by structure from the MRI data using the ITK-SNAP volume segmentation software. These surfaces were converted to Non-uniform Rational B-spline surfaces by the INUS Rapidform rapid prototyping software. Rapidform was also used to generate a thin shell surface model for the dura mater which sheathes the spinal cord. Altair's Hypermesh pre-processor was used to generate finite element meshes for each structure. These processes in this study can be utilized in modeling of other biomedical tissues and can be one of examples for reverse engineering on biomechanics.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.810-814
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• 2000

We report two cases of spinal subdural hematoma in the lumbar region after trauma. They developed in a 27-years old man and a 32-year-old woman. They had no other causes such as bleeding tendency, preexisting spinal lesions, lumbar puncture, vascular malformation and anticoagulant therapy. There lesions were diagnosed with MRI(fat suppression) and treated by lumbar puncture.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.133-138
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• 2024

An 8-year-old, spayed female Persian cat weighing 3.6 kg presented with a lumbosacral mass and bilateral weight bearing hindlimb lameness. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a dumbbell-shaped heterogeneous mass extending through the internal surface of the ileum and surrounding the lumbosacral junction. CT also revealed extensive osteoproliferation and bone lysis of the sacrum, but no evidence of any pulmonary metastasis. Furthermore, MRI revealed a focal area in the spinal cord showing connection with the adjacent tumor, suggesting tumor invasion into the spinal cord. Low-grade myxoid chondrosarcoma was histopathologically diagnosed. This is the first report describing CT and MRI findings of spinal cord chondrosarcoma in veterinary medicine. This study suggests that combining CT with MRI is a more sensitive tool for evaluating spinal tumors than using CT or MRI alone.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.93-99
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• 2007

Purpose : The aim of this study is to consider degenerative spine disease theoretically and compare plain radiography which is a basic study for low back pain with MRI in cases of degenerative lumbar spine disease to find out whether the abnormalities agree with each other. Methods : In 4 cases of lumbar degenerative disease, we studied the relation of the abnormalities such as disc space narrowing, spinal space narrowing, loss of lordosis and osteophytes on plain radiography with those on MRI of HIVD, spinal stenosis and spondylolisthesis. Results : Many abnormalities such as disc space narrowing, spinal space narrowing, loss of lordosis, osteophytes and change of cortex & bone marrow on plain radiography suggest HIVD, spinal stenosis, spondylolysis or spondylolisthesis on MRI. Conclusion : For low back pain patients, plain radiography is a basic study in diagnosis of HIVD, spinal stenosis, spondylolysis or spondylolisthesis but MRI or CT scan is necessary to develop(build) a treatment plan like an operation.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.265-268
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• 2014

Solitary fibrous tumor is rare benign mesenchymal neoplasm. The spinal solitary fibrous tumor is extremely rare. The authors experienced a case of intramedullary solitary fibrous tumor of cervicothoracic spinal cord in a 48-year-old man with right lower extremity sensory disturbance. Spinal MRI showed intradural mass lesion in the level of C7-T1, the margin between the spinal cord and tumor was not clear on MRI. A Left unilateral laminectomy and mass removal was performed. Intra operative finding, the tumor boundary was unclear from spinal cord and it had intramedullary and extramedullary portion. After surgery, patient had good recovery and had uneventful prognosis. Follow up spinal MRI showed no recurrence of tumor.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.1123-1131
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• 2023

This study aimed to present a method to effectively suppress metal artifacts caused by spinal fusion surgery during spinal MRI study. For this purpose, a phantom made of spinal surgery screws was created to reproduce the metal artifact. Then, images were acquired with 1.5T and 3.0T MRI to evaluate changes in metal artifacts according to magnetic field strength. In addition, metal artifacts were evaluated by increasing the receive bandwidth to 200, 400 and 800 Hz/PX. As a result, metal artifacts occurring in images obtained from the 1.5T MRI decreased by approximately 52.2% compared to images obtained from the 3.0T MRI, showing a significant difference (p<0.05). In particular, the signal loss and signal pile up areas were reduced by approximately 52.81% and 42.71%, respectively, showing a significant effect in suppressing metal artifacts. On the other hand, when images were acquired while increasing the receive bandwidth from 200 to 800 Hz/PX, there was no significant effect, with a decrease of up to 8.93% for the 1.5T MRI and up to 10.98% for the 3.0T MRI (p>0.05). As a result of this study, increasing the receive bandwidth reduced signal loss and reduced some metal artifacts, but did not have a significant effect because it did not suppress signal pile up. However, when the magnetic field strength was reduced from 3.0T to 1.5T, signal loss and signal pile up were greatly reduced, effectively improving the metal artifact. Therefore, in order to suppress metal artifacts caused by spinal fusion surgery, study using a low magnetic field MRI can be said to be the most effective method.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.82 no.5
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• pp.1341-1345
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• 2021

Spinal ependymomas are generally located in the intramedullary compartment in adults. Intradural extramedullary spinal ependymomas are extremely rare. Spinal ependymomas show various contrast enhancements on MRI. In this study, we report a rare case of a 52-year-old female who had a pathologically confirmed intradural extramedullary ependymoma that showed no enhancement on MRI.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.68-74
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• 2019

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of occult spinal dysraphism (OSD) and subsequent neurosurgery in pediatric patients with isolated or combined dorsal midline cutaneous stigmata with or without other congenital malformations. Methods: We carried out a retrospective review of patients who underwent sonography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for OSD because of suspicion of dorsal midline cutaneous stigmata (presumed to be a marker for OSD) between January 2012 and June 2017. Information about patient characteristics, physical examination findings, spinal ultrasound and MRI results, neurosurgical notes, and accompanying congenital anomalies was collected. Results: Totally 250 patients (249 ultrasound and one MRI screening) were enrolled for analysis. Eleven patients underwent secondary MRI examinations. The prevalence of OSD confirmed by an MRI was 2.4% (6 patients including one MRI screening). Five patients (2%) had tethered cord and underwent prophylactic neurosurgery, 3 of whom had a sacrococcygeal dimple and a fibrofatty mass. Prevalence of tethered cord increased as markers associated with a sacrococcygeal dimple increased (0.5% of the isolated marker group, 8.1% of the 2-marker group, and 50% of the 3-marker group). Incidence of OSD with surgical detethering in 17 other congenital anomaly patients was 11.8%, which was higher than the 1.3% in 233 patients without other congenital anomalies. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the presence of dorsal midline cutaneous stigmata, particularly fibrofatty masses, along with a sacrococcygeal dimple is associated with OSD or cord tethering requiring surgery. OSD should be suspected in patients with concurrent occurrence of other congenital anomalies.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.242-247
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• 2015

Objective : The purpose of this study is to determine whether the changes of contralateral sensorimotor cortical activation on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can predict the neurological outcome among spinal cord injury (SCI) patients when the great toes are stimulated without notice. Methods : This study enrolled a total of 49 patients with SCI and investigated each patient's preoperative fMRI, postoperative fMRI, American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) score, and neuropathic pain occurrence. Patients were classified into 3 groups according to the change of blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response on perioperative fMRI during proprioceptive stimulation with repetitive passive toe movements : 1) patients with a response of contralateral sensorimotor cortical activation in fMRI were categorized; 2) patients with a response in other regions; and 3) patients with no response. Correlation between the result of fMRI and each parameter was analyzed. Results : In fMRI data, ASIA score was likely to show greater improvement in patients in group A compared to those belonging to group B or C (p<0.001). No statistical significance was observed between the result of fMRI and neuropathic pain (p=0.709). However, increase in neuropathic pain in response to the signal change of the ipsilateral frontal lobe on fMRI was statistically significant (p=0.030). Conclusion : When there was change of BOLD response at the contralateral sensorimotor cortex on perioperative fMRI after surgery, relief of neurological symptoms was highly likely for traumatic SCI patients. In addition, development of neuropathic pain was likely to occur when there was change of BOLD response at ipsilateral frontal lobe.