NMR Research Unit, Queen Square MS Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, England, UK.
Neuroimage. 2014 Jan 1;84:1082-93. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.07.014. Epub 2013 Jul 14.
A first-ever spinal cord imaging meeting was sponsored by the International Spinal Research Trust and the Wings for Life Foundation with the aim of identifying the current state-of-the-art of spinal cord imaging, the current greatest challenges, and greatest needs for future development. This meeting was attended by a small group of invited experts spanning all aspects of spinal cord imaging from basic research to clinical practice. The greatest current challenges for spinal cord imaging were identified as arising from the imaging environment itself; difficult imaging environment created by the bone surrounding the spinal canal, physiological motion of the cord and adjacent tissues, and small crosssectional dimensions of the spinal cord, exacerbated by metallic implants often present in injured patients. Challenges were also identified as a result of a lack of "critical mass" of researchers taking on the development of spinal cord imaging, affecting both the rate of progress in the field, and the demand for equipment and software to manufacturers to produce the necessary tools. Here we define the current state-of-the-art of spinal cord imaging, discuss the underlying theory and challenges, and present the evidence for the current and potential power of these methods. In two review papers (part I and part II), we propose that the challenges can be overcome with advances in methods, improving availability and effectiveness of methods, and linking existing researchers to create the necessary scientific and clinical network to advance the rate of progress and impact of the research.
首次脊髓成像会议由国际脊髓研究信托基金和生活之翼基金会主办，旨在确定脊髓成像的最新现状、当前面临的最大挑战以及未来发展的最大需求。一小群受邀专家参加了此次会议，他们涵盖了从基础研究到临床实践的脊髓成像的各个方面。目前脊髓成像面临的最大挑战来自成像环境本身；椎管周围骨骼、脊髓和相邻组织的生理运动以及脊髓的小横截面积造成了困难的成像环境，而受伤患者中经常存在的金属植入物则使情况更加恶化。由于缺乏从事脊髓成像开发的“大量”研究人员，也带来了挑战，这不仅影响了该领域的进展速度，也影响了制造商生产必要工具的设备和软件的需求。在这里，我们定义了脊髓成像的最新现状，讨论了其背后的理论和挑战，并展示了这些方法的当前和潜在功能的证据。在两篇综述文章（第一部分和第二部分）中，我们提出可以通过方法的进步、提高方法的可用性和有效性、以及将现有研究人员联系起来以建立必要的科学和临床网络来克服这些挑战，从而提高进展速度和研究的影响力。
