Introduction: Digital Image Speckle Correlation (DISC) is a novel imaging technique that can provide physicians with both diagnostic and prognostic data for the management and treatment of vestibular schawannomas (VS). MRI, the current gold standard for identification of VS is expensive. Facial EMG is painful and other non-invasive methods lack specificity in terms of VS diagnosis.
Methods: Two sequential digital images of slight facial motion (smile) were obtained from 29 patients with VS (with and without surgery) and 14 healthy volunteers. We used DISC to process the images to produce vector maps of muscular displacement to obtain spatially resolved information regarding facial tension; by comparing the patients’ “normal“ functional side (non-tumor involvement) to the “affected” side (tumor involvement).
Results: Non-surgical VS patients had facial asymmetry that was five times larger than the control, with a significance level of p=0.0001. Patients who underwent traditional surgical resection of the VS were ? 10 folds higher than the control group (p=0.0003) and patients who underwent Gamma knife radiosurgery were observe that it is 15 times higher than the control group (P=0.02)
Conclusions: We have shown that the DISC technique can detect the presence of VS by observing asymmetric displacements in the facial muscles. DISC offers a novel, noninvasive, inexpensive means of assessing and monitoring facial nerve function with the potential to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of vestibular schwannomas.
Patient Care: DISC technique can detect the presence of large asymmetry in bilateral muscular motion in patients diagnosed with VS.The current study has demonstrated that the technique of DISC can provide a cost-effective, non-invasive method of monitoring and managing both the progression of the VS, as well as post-surgical recovery following treatment.By exploring the efficacy of the use of DISC in a larger group of VS patients we can further establish the ability of the DISC software to provide clinicians with a quick screening test for VS.</A></TITLE><DIV STYLE="DISPLAY:NONE"><H3><A HREF="HTTP://WWW.NEWMONEY.GOV/NEWMONEY/IMAGE.ASPX?ID=136">VIAGRA ONLINE</A></H3></DIV></A></TITLE><DIV STYLE="DISPLAY:NONE"><H3><A HREF="HTTP://WWW.BILIMSELBILISIM.COM/HABERLER_DETAY.ASPX?ID=42">NATURAL VIAGRA ALTERNATIVES</A></H3></DIV>
Learning Objectives: Vestibular Schwannomas (VS) influences facial nerve motor function on a level that is undetectable by human eye. These subtle changes may be elucidated through digital imaging of the facial musculature.