Motor Unit MRI in cervical and lumbar radiculopathy (MUMRI-R)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A comparison of Motor Unit MRI with MR neurography and current standard neurophysiological and MRI investigations in cervical and lumbar radiculopathy
IRAS ID
319200
Contact name
Julie Hall
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The aim of this observational study is to compare a new technique for performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) – Motor Unit Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MUMRI) – against clinical standard MRI and neurophysiological investigations and emerging MR neurography techniques for patients with radiculopathy from nerve root compression. This is an important problem because inconsistencies between standard MRI and neurophysiological investigations are frequent and may lead to some patients being referred for surgeries that are not helpful, or alternatively, some patients not being offered surgery who may benefit from this.
We will recruit patients who have been referred for neurophysiological investigations (nerve conduction studies and electromyography) following onset of pain or weakness suggestive of radiculopathy. Patients will undergo these neurophysiological investigations and a conventional MRI as per clinical standard of care. We will then invite them to attend for a dedicated research MRI scan including MUMRI and MR neurography at our regional neurosciences centre.
For some patients this will be the end of their involvement in the study. However there are likely to be some patients who are subsequently offered surgery to decompress the nerve root – we will invite these patients to have a further follow-up research MRI scan performed at least four weeks after their surgery, which would signal the end of their involvement in this study.
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
23/NS/0038
Date of REC Opinion
16 Apr 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion