Andre J. W. van Der Kouwe1, Pallavi Sagar2,
Amanda L. Silver3, Stephen Maturo3, Katherine Nimkin2,
Christopher J. Hartnick3
1Athinoula A. Martinos Center,
Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA,
United States; 2Pediatric Radiology, Department of Radiology,
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; 3Department
of Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA, United
States
Velopharyngeal Insufficiency (VPI) is a condition in which the velopharynx does not properly close during speech production. The condition can be improved with surgery after evaluation with videofluoroscopy and/or nasendoscopy. MRI may provide a non-invasive and non-radiative alternative. We present a protocol for acquiring two images per second of the velopharyngeal anatomy during speech production and a method implemented on the scanner for automatically generating an mpeg movie from the image series along with a synchronized audio recording using an optical microphone. The movie is available for review on the scanner immediately after imaging.
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