Feasibility of vocal fold abduction and adduction assessment using cine-MRI.
OBJECTIVE
Determine feasibility of vocal fold (VF) abduction and adduction assessment by cine magnetic resonance imaging (cine-MRI) METHODS: Cine-MRI of the VF was performed on five healthy and nine unilateral VF paralysis (UVFP) participants using an axial gradient echo acquisition with temporal resolution of 0.7 s. VFs were continuously imaged with cine-MRI during a 10-s period of quiet respiration and phonation. Scanning was repeated twice within an individual session and then once again at a 1-week interval. Asymmetry of VF position during phonation (VF phonation asymmetry, VFPa) and respiration (VF respiration asymmetry, VFRa) was determined. Percentage reduction in total glottal area between respiration and phonation (VF abduction potential, VFAP) was derived to measure overall mobility. An un-paired t-test was used to compare differences between groups. Intra-session, inter-session and inter-reader repeatability of the quantitative metrics was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).


RESULTS
VF position asymmetry (VFPa and VFRa) was greater (p=0.012; p=0.001) and overall mobility (VFAP) was lower (p=0.008) in UVFP patients compared with healthy participants. ICC of repeatability of all metrics was good, ranged from 0.82 to 0.95 except for the inter-session VFPa (0.44).


CONCLUSION
Cine-MRI is feasible for assessing VF abduction and adduction. Derived quantitative metrics have good repeatability.


KEY POINTS
• Cine-MRI is used to assess vocal folds (VFs) mobility: abduction and adduction. • New quantitative metrics are derived from VF position and abduction potential. • Cine-MRI able to depict the difference between normal and abnormal VF mobility. • Cine-MRI derived quantitative metrics have good repeatability.
['Baki|Marina Mat|MM|', 'Menys|Alex|A|', 'Atkinson|David|D|', 'Bassett|Paul|P|', 'Morley|Simon|S|', 'Beale|Timothy|T|', 'Sandhu|Guri|G|', 'Naduvilethil|Georgekutty|G|', 'Stevenson|Nicola|N|', 'Birchall|Martin A|MA|', 'Punwani|Shonit|S|']
D000328:Adult D005240:Feasibility Studies D005260:Female D006801:Humans D019028:Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine D008297:Male D010699:Phonation D015203:Reproducibility of Results D014826:Vocal Cord Paralysis D014827:Vocal Cords
Cine Magnetic resonance imaging Feasibility study Vocal fold paralysis