spinecor

[MATJESNIC]

Hello Friends,

Nicole had an awesome surprise party and I would love to share some pictures with you. My daughter Jessica said she would help me post some. So stay tuned. Maybe tomorrow.

Gerbo,

Happy Father's Day!!!!

Happy Father's Day to all you other amazing Dads out there. Hope you don't get too many ties!!

[RugbyLaura]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick question. Immy has been really good at wearing her brace. She wore it all night last night & has worn it most of today. She has just had it off for two hours this morning and three this afternoon to dance (she's now in the bath). One problem, she has a sore bit between her legs on the bit where the bodysuit & crotch straps go, just on one side. Is there anything I can do? I'm worried that if it gets really sore it might put her off wearing it. Tomorrow she is going on a 7 mile walk with school.

Laura

[alabama mom]

Hi everyone. I was reading all of the posts on th xray machine, and I wanted to say that I had been a little uneasy about this new machine from the beginning. We first went to Montreal in April, and the xray technician, and Dr. Rivard (I think?) explained that it was a new machine...10% radiation compared to the regular machines...and that they would need me to sign a release. But, I never actually was given anything to sign, and I never asked about it. When we went back in May, they used that same machine.
I had read a little bit of discussion on this issue, here on this board, before I ever went to Montreal. I felt that everyone else sounded happy about the less radiation machine, so I thought I should be too. But I must admit now, that I have had some concerns about it.
I thought I would let you guys know what our experience was with the consent form thing, and let you know that I would also like to know more about this machine, before my daughter uses it again.
I hope that we can all come to feel better about this matter, and that it proves to be a good thing for our kids. 10% of the radiation per xray is a GREAT thing.
Nancy.

[cherylplinder]

The most pertinent question for me would be........ How much x-ray exposure are the surrounding body parts(head, breasts, gonads, etc.) receiving with their traditional x-ray in the scatter rays, (breasts and gonads even with shields are receiving a dose of radiation. ) If you are in the same room when the x-ray is given, you have to wear a shield to protect you.
Maybe some data has been studied and is available. It would not be impossible to measure, I don't think. I would think there would be a study we could look at.
It could be that the head, etc. receives a 10% dose with their traditional and so there is no added detriment to the child.
I just want to know ahead of time so I can choose wisely.
One would think that before making the change, all of that would be studied.

[MATJESNIC]

I just asked Nicole if she had a different kind of x-ray machine and she said yes. Nobody told me anything about it or asked me to sign anything.

[Celia]

The one thing that strikes me about the EOS is that it's constantly being compared to CAT scans and the ability to get a three dimensional view of the spine in order to assist the surgeon in planning for a better surgery. Keep in mind that * two * simultaneous x-rays beams are taken to get a lateral and frontal view vs the old system of only *one* P/A x-ray. I was also thinking about the difference between A/P and P/A x-rays.... P/A x-rays expose the patient to less radiation because the bones are blocking the x-ray beam from coming into direct contact with vital organs and hence less radiation with P/A versus A/P. The EOS has two lateral x-ray beams and organs would definitely be targeted with it. If we get the following articles ....does anyone speak Chinese or have a friend who could translate the article??? I could probably translate the French one.



The EOS project is the outcome of the meeting between clinicians, namely Professor Jean Dubousset from the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Hospital Center in Paris, physicians from Biospace, the company set up by Nobel Physics Laureate Georges Charpak, and LBM biomechanical engineers specialized in three-dimensional modeling. For this project in particular, we wanted to forge an alliance with the Laboratoire de recherches en Imagerie et Orthopédie (LIO, imaging and orthopedics research laboratory) in Montreal, an image processing specialist, with whom we have already productively collaborated.

What is the principle underlying EOS that provides a three-dimensional reconstruction of the bone?

EOS combines two major innovations. One, microstrip gas detectors were developed through research carried out by Georges Charpak and Biospace. With this system, very low-dose irradiation (five to ten times lower than standard X-rays) X-rays can be taken. Two, a new modeling technique enables precise 3D reconstruction of the external envelope of an osteoarticular structure from a simple pair of X-rays. This was designed by LBM and LIO teams working with the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul. Hospital Center.

What clinical and scientific advantages does EOS offer?

With EOS, the bone can undergo a detailed 3D quantitative exploration. For clinicians, this means improved patient therapies. EOS also has a major advantage for research. The overall view of a patient means that physicians can see if vertebrae are slipping or understand why the patient has a configuration that causes regular luxations. We, who have a background in mechanical engineering, can gradually begin to understand what is actually happening on a bio mechanical level thanks to mechanical models in finite elements that we build based on customized data. For instance, we are now working on surgical indications based on the 3D reconstruction, among others.



1: Zhongguo Yi Liao Qi Xie Za Zhi. 2001 Mar;25(2):63-5, 81.Links
[The imaging principles and the structure of the low-dose digital radiographic device]
[Article in Chinese]

Kang QZ, Yu HL, Zhang H, Zhang DS, Cao HD.
Jing An District Central Hospital, Shanghai.

This article introduced A new type of X-ray radiographic device, which uses MWPC as the low-dose detector with the machinery and computer to reconstruct the X-ray digital images. In this paper, the advantages and the disadvantages of the device are analysed, thus much improvement has been made to make it better and more efficient.

PMID: 12583141 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


1: Bull Acad Natl Med. 2005 Feb;189(2):287-97; discussion 297-300.Links

[A new 2D and 3D imaging approach to musculoskeletal physiology and pathology with low-dose radiation and the standing position: the EOS system]
[Article in French]

Dubousset J, Charpak G, Dorion I, Skalli W, Lavaste F, Deguise J, Kalifa G, Ferey S.

Hôpital St Vincent de Paul, Service de Chirurgie Orthopédique.

Close collaboration between multidisciplinary specialists (physicists, biomecanical engineers, medical radiologists and pediatric orthopedic surgeons) has led to the development of a new low-dose radiation device named EOS. EOS has three main advantages: The use of a gaseous X-ray detector, invented by Georges Charpak (Nobel Prizewinner 1992), the dose necessary to obtain a 2D image of the skeletal system has been reduced by 8 to 10 times, while that required to obtain a 3D reconstruction from CT slices has fallen by a factor of 800 to 1000. The accuracy of the 3D reconstruction obtained with EOS is as good as that obtained with CT. The patient is examined in the standing (or seated) position, and is scanned simultaneously from head to feet, both frontally and laterally. This is a major advantage over conventional CT which requires the patient to be placed horizontally. -The 3D reconstructions of each element of the osteo-articular system are as precise as those obtained by conventional CT. EOS is also rapid, taking only 15 to 30 minutes to image the entire spine.
PMID: 16114859 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[Celia]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick question. One problem, she has a sore bit between her legs on the bit where the bodysuit & crotch straps go, just on one side. Is there anything I can do? I'm worried that if it gets really sore it might put her off wearing it. Tomorrow she is going on a 7 mile walk with school.

Hey Laura,

The crotch strap may have to be loosened just a little bit if it's too tight? According to the manual the crotch straps should never be too loose or too tight. If she has a sore on her inner thigh a band aid will definitely help with the chafing.

[RugbyLaura]

Hi all,

Immy wore her Spinecor (George) to school today for the first time. Absolutely no problems at all!! She was even doing forward & backward walkovers, handwalks, handsprings, etc. She said they were not quite as good as usual, but hey, it's only day 4!

We've been home for an hour now & she's not asked to take it off....

Laura X

[cherylplinder]

Laura,
That's great! What a relief!

[MATJESNIC]

Laura,

That is wonderful. When Nicole first started dancing in Spinecor she couldn't kick her legs as high and there were other things she felt restricted with. But that didn't last long. Eventually she did everything in it.

[mpj]

Wash Day Issues?

Hello,

Just wondering if any of you have problems on wash day. We have been using the brace since Dec. and still Madeline cries each time she puts her brace on after it has been washed. Her brace feels tight for several days afterwards. This past time, we waited for two and a half weeks in between washing because she didn't feel like it had loosened up enough to wash. The vest portion of the brace seems to be very tight and digging into her skin. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Sarah

[MATJESNIC]

I am so sorry you are having that problem. We never had any problems. We always hung the bottom part to air dry and we only put the top part in the dryer for about 5 minutes and let it air dry the rest of the time.

[christine2]

My daughters brace is definately tighter after washing but not so tight that the vest leaves marks. Are you drying on air only? I actually like it just after washing it feels as though it is working better.

Eveyone I need to share

On Tuesday it was very hot out. My kids were swimming most of the day. I was checking my daughters back, it looked almost straight!!! I could not believe my eyes. I could not stop looking at her!!! I can't wait to see Dr. Rivard in August.

[mpj]

Wash Day

I have been drying it on delicate which is fairly cool. It takes quite a while for it to feel dry though. Maybe I need to do more air drying.

Thanks for the feedback.

Sarah

[Celia]

Eveyone I need to share On Tuesday it was very hot out. My kids were swimming most of the day. I was checking my daughters back, it looked almost straight!!! I could not believe my eyes. I could not stop looking at her!!! I can't wait to see Dr. Rivard in August.

That's *wonderful* Christine!!! I'm so very happy for you and your daughter.