January 29, 2012 — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an exciting piece of new technology that measures the function of the spine.

The technology, which was invented at the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic (AECC) in Bournemouth, is already helping patients with difficult back problems.

Since 1910, surgeons have measured spinal function by taking two X-rays at the extremes of bending (flexion and extension) and then measuring the difference in the positions of the vertebrae by drawing lines on them. The new technology invented at the AECC uses motion X-rays (fluoroscopy) and quantifies the whole motion pattern by tracking the bones automatically across hundreds of frames using computer programs. This gives spinal surgeons much more information with similar accuracy and X-ray dosage.

Professor Paul Thompson, Head of Rheumatology at Poole General Hospital and involved with the AECC’s research said; “The cost of back pain alone to the Health Service within the United Kingdom has been estimated to be over £3,440 million in indirect costs and £1632 million in direct costs, with 5 percent of this being spent on imaging. However, X-rays taken for back pain are mostly reported as either normal, or having age-related changes, which tells us very little. To be able to get functional information that is precisely measured is an important advance.”

The new system, (known in the U.S. as the Kinegraph VMA) is currently in use by spinal surgeons for clinical

studies in seven U.S. hospitals. At the AECC, research is continuing on wider applications such as informing treatment for back and neck problems and the better fitting of lower limb prostheses for amputees.

Meanwhile, the college’s U.S. commercial partner Ortho Kinematics hopes to market the Kinegraph VMA to any clinical professional in the U.S. who prescribes flexion-extension X-rays.

Ken Vall, principal and CEO of the AECC said; “We have been working to perfect this technology for over 20 years, but have always been held up by limitations in X-ray machines and computer memory. This is an example of a small UK higher education institution persisting and punching above its weight in the big world of health technology transfer. We hope that many patients will benefit from this fundamental improvement in the way spine dysfunction is assessed.”

At the AECC clinic, patients with difficult back problems have already benefited from the new technology. Mechanical aspects of their back or neck pain have been clarified, resulting in more targeted treatment or avoidance of surgery.

The investigation of neck problems, such as whiplash and the influence of manual treatment on them is a recent addition to the research portfolio. Overall, the technology will enable groundbreaking research into the fundamentals of musculoskeletal healthcare – including the ability to test basic assumptions about chiropractic and other clinical care.

Source: Anglo-European College of Chiropractic, aecc.ac.uk