Product Overview

Static measurements are just a snapshot and do not reveal the entire physiological range of an organism. In many diseases, numerous symptoms will only be apparent on the application of a load or during movement. Relevant diseases and clinical pictures therefore require a dynamic evaluation in order to reveal symptoms. The Diagnostic Pedal is an MRI-compatible device which is designed to produce physical stress within the MRI bore, which can be applied with tomographs of the leading manufacturers (i.e. Siemens, Philips, General Electric, Toshiba and Hitachi). Further, the system is compatible with all divergent magnetic field strengths, e.g. 1.5, 3, 7 or even higher Tesla figures. This allows the muscle to be examined using various MR techniques whilst maintaining a set workload. Based on the implementation of various MR technologies, numerous biological parameters can be measured with this technique under physiological and pathological conditions.

Application

With our ergometers, the human body is exposed to an accurate, constant workload for a specific period of time during an MRI measurement. During the examination, the workload intensity is constantly variable in order to simulate routine stressful situations and the resulting physiological changes in the musculoskeletal system are measured simultaneously inside the MR bore.

Physiological changes assessed with the MR technique:

energy metabolism, in-vivo metabolic studies: 31P MRS, 13C MRS, determination of mitochondrial function, anaerobic and aerobic capacity, and glycogen metabolism
lipid metabolism and deoxymyoglobin: 1H MRS, tracking of intra- and extra-myocellular lipids and myoglobin
blood oxygen level dependency = BOLD, monitoring of the oxygen supply within the tissue
Perfusion MRI, microcirculation within the exerci-sing muscle or the myocardium
phase-contrast MRI, assessment of blood flow in the feeding vessel or changes in the tissue elasticity (cartilage, disks)
CINE MRI, cardiac function, real time imaging of pressure-sensitive tissue like cartilage, ligamenta and disks
Diffusion tensor imaging, fiber tracking in muscle tissue
Relaxametry, determination of edema or water content in different tissues under stress (cartilage, ligamenta, muscle)

The combination of different MR techniques provides a unique opportunity to study the musculoskeletal system during exercise.

Diagnostic Pedal features:

Fast and easy handling of the ergometer in daily clinical routines
Cutting-edge technology for signal transmission without disrupting MR measurements.
Considerable flexibility in conducting stress tests since the system can be adapted easily to suit individual physical capacities.
Automatic recordings of all relevant parameters (e.g. force, distance, frequency and energy output).
Fully automatic force adaptation powered by a pneumatic system and regulation of the energy output by user-friendly control software.