B-0313 Muscle elastography in patients affected by multiple sclerosis
G. Illomei, G. Spinicci, M. Arru, M. Marrosu | Friday, March 8, 10:30 – 12:00 / Room E1
Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the use of real time elastography in evaluating the muscle stiffness comparing to Ashworth scale. The aim of the study is to create an elastography score for MS patients.
Methods and Materials: We investigated 101 MS patients, 61 women and 40 men. Disability score assessed by Expanded Disability Status Score of Kurtzke scale ranged from 0 and 8.5 with a mean value of 3.5. In all patients a neurological examination was performed and referred to Ashworth scale score by a neurologist. All patients underwent real time elastography on Esaote my Lab Twice with transducer with a high frequency probe 4-13 MHz. The muscles examined were quadriceps of both legs. The study was a double-blinded one, and it was approved by local Ethic Committee.
Results: There was full concordance between the Ashworth scale evaluation and elastography score. However, patients classified as score 0 in the Ashworth scale can be spitted in 0a (total normality of muscle fibers elasticity) and 0b (initial compromising of muscle fibers elasticity). The main result of the study was the creation of an elastography score of muscle stiffness in MS patients that can be compared with Ashworth scale.
Conclusion: Ashworth scale is at present the only method to evaluate muscle stiffness in MS patients. Our study demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to have an imaging method to assess this clinical examination giving new possibilities to follow the evolving of the disease in these patients.
During and after ECR 2013, one of the questions we were asked most frequently by viewers of our online streaming service, ECR Live, was ‘where can I watch a recording of session x?’
At the time, we weren’t able to give any definite answers. We were happy that so many people were interested, just as we were delighted with the success of the project, which saw more than 1,400 lectures broadcast online in 13 separate live streams, but we didn’t have firm plans for what to do with the recordings. Now we do.
We’ve gathered together as many lectures from ECR 2013 as possible and we’ll be presenting them in a series called ‘ECR Rec’, here on the ESR blog throughout the coming months. Naturally, we wanted to make sure to obtain the speakers’ permission before including their material, so the collection only includes lectures from speakers who chose to be a part of the project, but it’s a great cross-section of the ECR 2013 programme, and we’re really proud to be able to present all of the videos completely free of charge.
You can find the first two recordings in the series here:
We are proud to introduce ECR Live; bringing you 1,400 presentations live from the ECR in 13 separate video streams. Each stream comes with its own chat feature, so you can discuss sessions with other viewers and even ask presenters questions. It’s easy to register, simple to use, and completely free of charge. Join here: live.myESR.org
The quality of the ECR’s sessions for radiographers has been given a welcome seal of approval from the European Federation of Radiographer Societies (EFRS) who recently elected the ECR as their official annual scientific meeting. EFRS president, Prof. Graciano Paulo, from the college of health technology of Coimbra, Portugal, has been coming to the ECR for more than a decade and firmly believes the upcoming congress boasts one of the best selections yet for radiographers. Here he gives his personal preview of ECR 2013 and each of these sessions, all of which you can find in the ECR 2013 Interactive Programme Planner by searching for ‘radiographers’.
Read on for Prof. Paulo’s preview of all the sessions for radiographers at ECR 2013 …
If you’re preparing for the European Diploma in Radiology, help is on the way …
Dr. Pepe, co-star of our popular blog series Caceres’ Corner, is finally going solo (with the help of some very good friends). Next month, here on the myESR blog, he will start presenting a series of cases that are typical of what you might expect to find in the European Diploma in Radiology examination, especially to help you prepare.
Our blog superstar, Prof. José Cáceres, is one of the most popular lecturers at the ECR. So popular that his Mini Course on chest radiography was fully booked way in advance of ECR 2012 and quite a few people were disappointed that they couldn’t get in. So we spoke to the man himself, to answer those people who asked for his lectures to be held in a larger room.
We have to admit it; the ESR social media team has had its eye on this big, round target for a while. Since starting the myESR Facebook page around two years ago, we have watched the little ticker marked ‘fans’ gradually get higher and higher. At some point, as we realised it would keep going, we started to set our sights on building a Facebook community that would reflect the size of the ESR. Our ‘fantasy’ aim: to gain 10,000 page likes by the start of ECR 2012.
Well, as it turns out, when a snowball starts rolling on Facebook, it tends to keep going…
These days there is practically no better way to show people what you do and what you offer than in the form of a short video. It has many clear advantages over other methods and is one of the best ways to combine an insight, a glimpse of all the various aspects of the subject and even to catch some of the atmosphere if done correctly. That’s where it gets difficult.
We had a great cameraman working with us at ECR 2011, who captured a whole catalogue of moments on video. Beside his good eye he also had some very nice equipment (a Canon 5D Mark II) and managed to catch some great shots that show the more emotional side of the meeting: people anxious about their lectures, cheering, a lot of laughing and excitement. Even some lovebirds enjoying a musical performance from one of our ‘ESR Meets’ countries.
Using a DSLR camera has pros and cons. As always, when used the right way you can create stunning results that are comparable with the work of great photographers because you are using the same tools. I have already mentioned that we got some really nice shots, so my first decision was to create a traditional video, using all those strong pictures and some fitting music. The result was a two-minute-long video, scored by some elegant classical music, which was nice to watch.
If you’ve visited the ESR website in the last couple of months you may well have been greeted by a short but graceful animation of floating flowers and fruit, accompanied by the sounds of birdsong and a glimpse of lilting accordian music. This little clip has been put together as a ‘teaser movie’ for ECR 2012, and the more observant among you may even have noticed the visual connection with the ECR 2012 poster, which uses Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s painting Spring (a figure composed entirely of seasonal vegetation) placed back-to-back with a ‘radiographic’ mirror image. This teaser movie takes individual elements of the original painting to make an airy collage that hints at the poster and hopefully conjures up a slightly more conventional springtime atmosphere than Arcimboldo’s nonetheless fascinating creation!
