Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 13, 2026
Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Chronic Spinal Cord Compression
Published on: May 7, 2019
Feasibility of MR-tagging to quantify spinal cord motion in degenerative cervical myelopathy
Constantin von Deuster1, Georg Wilhelm Kajdi2, Shila Pazahr2
1Swiss Center for Musculoskeletal Imaging, Balgrist Campus AG, Zurich, Switzerland; Siemens Healthineers International AG, Zurich, Switzerland.
Background:
The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of MR-tagging for direct visualization and quantification of pathologically altered spinal-cord motion in patients with cervical spinal stenosis and compare it to the standard approach of phase contrast (PC) imaging.
Methods:
In this prospective study, sagittal sections (22 cm field of view) of the cervical spine of nine patients with mono-segmental spinal-canal stenosis were imaged in different heart phases after selective pre-saturation of tissue magnetization in an axially oriented tag-stripe pattern (MR-tagging). Video loops of images acquired in different heart phases were viewed to directly observe and compare head-feet (HF) displacement at the level of the stenosis. The maximum HF displacement of MR-tags in the cord was quantitatively assessed and compared to that derived from integration of PC velocity data.
Results:
Regional MR-tag displacement in the spinal cord could successfully be observed in all patients (4 females, 5 males, mean age 57 ± 7 years). Maximum displacement data derived from tagging at the stenosis level correlated excellently (R2 = 0.84) with matched measurements from PC imaging.
Conclusion:
Without complex post-processing, MR-tag imaging provides an intuitive direct visualization and quantification of pathologically altered spinal-cord motion at the level of cervical stenosis offering a faster alternative to PC imaging in clinical routine.
