How can you visualize motion occuring in the spine without x-rays?

Post date: Apr 19, 2010 8:32:19 PM

For about 10 years we have been measuring the motion that occurs in the spine during various activities (spineboarding, bed transfers, prone positioning, etc.) We have used a cadaveric model so that we could create injuries of controlled severity and attached sensors to the vertebrae to measure motion (position and orientation). We have always measured range of motion in each plane during each manuever, but we have not been able to relate that to the specific patients anatomy to determine how much motion might be detrimental. Our latest work has incorporated CT bone models of subject specific anatomy and mapped the motions from the sensors onto the bone models so that we can visualize the 3D motions of each vertebrae. See the videos below for an example of what happens in the cervical spine during a log roll!