Measuring the pressure of the intervertebral disc

• Main Author: Fahmy, Amr
• Other Authors: Rassoulian, Hamid ; Sampson, Anthony ; Belli, Antonio
• Published: University of Southampton 2013
• Subjects: 617.5
• Online Access: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.588914

Spinal musculoskeletal conditions are an economical burden; in the United States alone, the annual cost of these conditions is estimated to be $254 billion. These conditions are also a social burden; in the United States, for example, musculoskeletal problem is the number one reason for a visit to a physician. Most of these conditions are caused by degenerative changes in the vertebral column. Such degenerations are, often, the result of long-term changes in the intervertebral disc pressure. To date, the standard methodology to measure this pressure suffers from being invasive, which prevents it from being widely applicable. Thus, developing a validated, non-invasive method for measuring the intervertebral disc pressure can be a valuable diagnostic tool. An ideal, non-invasive, solution to measure the pressure of the intervertebral disc would be to use MRI scanners; they are safe and widely available. To date, however, there have been no studies to validate, or invalidate, this proposal. Thus, the main goal of the dissertation is to provide the corner stone for studying this proposal. To this end, the proposed approach consists of three steps: (1) measuring the pressure within the intervertebral disc, (2) obtaining an MR image for the same disc, and (3) comparing the two and finding whether a link exists between them. This dissertation contributes towards the first step by developing, and validating, a layout suitable for in-vitro application to spinal motion segments.