title: Spinal cord motion: influence of respiration and cardiac cycle.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess physiological spinal cord motion during the cardiac cycle compared with the influence of respiration based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements.
  
  
  METHODS
  Anterior-posterior spinal cord motion within the spinal canal was assessed in 16 healthy volunteers (median age, 25 years) by cardiac-triggered and cardiac-gated gradient echo pulse sequence MRI. Image acquisition was performed during breath-holding, normal breathing, and forced breathing. Normal spinal cord motion values were computed using descriptive statistics. Breathing-dependent differences were assessed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and compared with the cardiac-based cord motion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A normal value table was set up for the spinal cord motion of each vertebral cervico-thoracic-lumbar segment. Significant differences in cord motion were found between cardiac-based motion while breath-holding and the two breathing modalities (P < 0.01 each). Spinal cord motion was found to be highest during forced breathing, with a maximum in the lower cervical spinal segments (C5; mean, 2.1 mm ± 1.17). Image acquisition during breath-holding revealed the lowest motion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MRI permits the demonstration and evaluation of cardiac and respiration-dependent spinal cord motion within the spinal canal from the cervical to lumbar segments. Breathing conditions have a considerably greater impact than cardiac activity on spinal cord motion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  • Cardiac-triggered and ECG-gated MRI allows for demonstration of the smallest spinal cord motions.• Respiratory influences seem to have the highest impact on spine motion.• In contrast, the influence of the cardiac cycle seems to be small.• The smallest spinal cord motions were measured during breath-hold.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Winklhofer
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Germany.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schoth
authors.affiliation: Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stolzmann
authors.affiliation: Division of Neuroradiology, Department of Medical Imaging, Toronto Western Hospital, UHN, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Krings
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mull
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wiesmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Stracke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D062485:Breath Holding; D055424:Cardiac-Gated Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D009200:Myocardial Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology*