Morphometric Study of the Muscles of the Skin in MRI 3 Tesla in Patients With Facial Paralysis. (SIMOVI IRM 2)

May 12, 2026 updated by: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Amiens

The problem posed is the possibility of objectively assessing facial muscle mobility.

Today, in patients with facial paralysis, the assessment of the deficit is carried out using a subjective scale such as the House Brackman [1] or EMG scale of the facial nerve but does not distinguish each muscle individually . Objective measurements of skin muscles such as thickness and volume, in preoperative assessment of a facial paralysis rehabilitation surgery, would be useful in order to choose the most appropriate surgical technique. Indeed, too much amyotrophy will contraindicate hypoglosso-facial anastomosis (VII-XII) and it will be preferable to propose a temporal elongation myoplasty or a reinfused free muscle flap.

Similarly, it would be useful to be able to objectively evaluate the recovery of muscle function after facial allo-transplantation.

Although electromyography has been developed since the work of Duchenne de Boulogne, little research has been carried out on the development of noninvasive methods to objectively characterize in vivo skin muscles (variation, position, orientation, morphometry). The main morphometric data of the skin muscles come from anatomical dissections.

Imaging of the skin muscles has not been specifically developed. Some studies have been carried out to visualize these muscles in MRI 1.5 Tesla in pathologies such as myasthenia gravis, facial paralysis, and labio-alveolo-palatine clefts for example.

The originality of the project is to develop a method allowing to establish a quantitative correlation between the movements of the face and the muscular changes. This correlation will be achieved by associating muscular morphological data derived from MRI acquisitions and cutaneous deformations resulting from clinical examinations. This non-invasive approach should make it possible to establish objective and reproducible indicators in patients with facial paralysis sequelae.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

60

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Subject, for which a diagnosis of facial paralysis has been made, female or male, over 18 years of age.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnancy and lactation,
  • a patient with a contra-indication to MRI (Claustrophobia, Pace Maker, Neurosurgical Clips, Vascular Clips, Cardiac Valves, V.peritoneal Valves, Cochlear Implant, Neuro-Stimulator, Intra-Orbital Metal Shards (Articular Prosthesis, Dental Prosthesis, Contact Glass, Insulin Pumps, Intrauterine Device, Tattoo, Piercing / Implants.))

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Healthy subject
Other: Carry out the morphometric evaluation of the muscles of the skin, especially the large zygomatic muscle, in healthy subjects
Carry out the morphometric evaluation of the muscles of the skin, especially the large zygomatic muscle in healthy subjects (data obtained from the SIMOVI project being published).
Other: Facial paralysis
Other: Carry out the morphometric evaluation of the muscles of the skin, especially the large zygomatic muscle, in patients with sequelae of facial paralysis
Carry out the morphometric evaluation of the muscles of the skin, especially the large zygomatic muscle, in patients with sequelae of facial paralysis

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
The measurement of the volume of the large zygomatic muscle in patients with facial paralysis compared to the mean volume of the large zygomatic muscle in healthy subjects.
Time Frame: 5 years
5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Amiens

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

August 8, 2016

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 8, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 8, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 31, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 13, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

April 14, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 12, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PI2016_843_0013

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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