Dr Olivier Balédent, University Hospital of Amiens-Picardie & University of Picardie Jules Verne
“This summer, we finally got the news we’ve been waiting for: “The Ethics Committee has given a favourable opinion for conducting the study combining infusion and MRI flow tests in patients with suspected normal pressure hydrocephalus.”
In other good news, the REVERT team welcomed two new members in September: Mr Pan Liu and Dr Kimi Owashi.
Pan will be the IT developer for the MRI image processing software, which will be distributed in the partner hospitals. The software will calculate blood and CSF flow dynamics during each patient’s cardiac cycle. Kimi will be responsible for collecting the phase contrast MRI (PC-MRI) curve results and for combining them with the intracranial pressure signals obtained from infusion tests. Kimi will draw on her experience in digital simulation to offer a new, dynamic model of the interactions between craniospinal flows and tissue.
Initial tests have been conducted in vitro to validate the accuracy and reproducibility of PC-MRI flow measurements. The protocol for MRI acquisitions of craniospinal morphology and flow circulation has now been implemented in the Neuroradiology Department, and the team have set up a weekly session to study changes in cerebral flows. This spring, the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine conference (ISMRM-SMRT) invited us to present on our experience in using PC-MRI to investigate cerebral flow dynamics. We have also set up an international study group within the ISMRM on Imaging Neurofluids, which will serve as a relevant platform for the REVERT project.
The Neurosurgery team at Amiens have implemented the method and protocol for conducting infusion tests as developed in Cambridge, incorporating them into their clinical assessment for hydrocephalus. This month we plan to include the first patients for combined MRI and infusion tests here in Amiens.
Now all we need are the signed agreements between the regional hospitals of Caen, Brest and Amiens, and better travel circumstances so that our colleagues in Cambridge can visit each partner site in France and support us with implementing the PC-MRI and infusion protocols.”