Development of Diffusion MRI and Tractography Technique for the Detection of Nerve Lesions in Brachial Plexus Injuries (IRM-POPB)

August 11, 2026 updated by: Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

Development of Diffusion MRI and Tractography Technique for the Detection of Nerve Lesions in Brachial Plexus Injuries: Feasibility Study

The objective of this prospective study is to contribute to improving the management of patients with obstetric brachial plexus palsy.

The main objective is the characterization of the microstructure by diffusion MRI in patients with a history of unoperated obstetrical brachial plexus palsy.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The brachial plexus is a collection of nerve fibers that provides all sensory and motor functions of the entire upper limb. Its anatomy is particularly complex.

Obstetric brachial plexus palsy (OBP) is defined as flaccid paralysis of the upper limb, occurring at birth, related to forceful manipulation of the fetus for its delivery. This neonatal condition is not uncommon.

While most cases of OBP appear to recover spontaneously, children with incomplete recovery may have significant functional limitations related to muscle weakness, more or less associated with soft tissue retractions. Muscle weakness will induce an imbalance that can affect bone growth and joint development.

Simple stretching or neurapraxia almost always progresses spontaneously and favorably. Avulsion injuries, on the other hand, cannot heal spontaneously and therefore require surgery to restore upper limb function. The aim of this study is that DTI (Diffusion Tensor Imaging) imaging of the brachial plexus allows access to the entire brachial plexus in order to establish a lesion assessment and a powerful tool to aid in the decision for surgical exploration.

To date, there is no standard imaging technique for exploring the brachial plexus.

Diffusion tensor imaging is a new acquisition technique that tracks the movement of water molecules in all three spatial planes.

Tractography, or fiber tracking, is an acquisition and analysis technique performed using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) MRI data.

An MRI protocol has been developed for analyzing the brachial plexus based on pilot MRI scans performed at the Brain and Spine Institute. Subjects selected for this study will undergo MRI scans using different sequences from this protocol. Image processing and tractography sequences will allow for precise analysis of the function and structure of the brachial plexus nerves and characterization of lesions in affected subjects compared to the unaffected contralateral side. The hypothesis of this research is that DTI imaging of the brachial plexus will allow a better understanding of POPB by establishing a precise lesion assessment in association with clinical data.

This is a single-center, non-randomized feasibility study involving MRI imaging analyses and requiring no changes to the patient's usual care.

Imaging data from each subject will be analyzed and statistically compared. Each patient will serve as their own control (comparison between the healthy and pathological plexus).

Imaging data from each subject can be analyzed and statistically compared.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

8

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

  • Name: Manon BACHY-RAZZOUK, PU-PH
  • Phone Number: 00 33 1 44 73 69 37
  • Email: manon.bachy@aphp.fr

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • France
      • Paris, France, 75012
        • Recruiting
        • Service de Chirurgie Orthopédique et Réparatrice de l'Enfant, Hôpital Armand Trousseau AP-HP
        • Contact:
        • Contact:

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

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients aged 14 to 30 years
  • Consulted by the Orthopedics Department at Armand Trousseau Hospital
  • Diagnosed and monitored by Armand Trousseau Hospital for obstetrical brachial plexus palsy (OBBP)
  • Having a single, unoperated lesion (lesions are very different and only exceptionally affect all the roots bilaterally).
  • Not suffering from bone or neurological pathology unrelated to OBP
  • Patients affiliated with or entitled to a social security scheme
  • Patients who have received informed information and have signed, with the investigator, a consent form to participate in the study
  • Parents/legal guardians who have received informed information and have co-signed, with the investigator, a consent form to participate in the study, for minor patients

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of rheumatoid pathologies, constitutional bone diseases, past or current pathologies affecting the arm or neck unrelated to the obstetric brachial plexus, any history of neoplasia or radiographic appearance consistent with a neoplastic fracture
  • Current pregnancy
  • Inability to perform the MRI examination (presence of a contraindication, incapacitating pain, or claustrophobia)
  • Large tattoo present in the area of interest (artifacts)
  • Patients deprived of liberty, or under guardianship/curatorship
  • Patients receiving medical assistance (AME)

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: One group
Other: Performing an MRI

Various MRI sequences were performed (without injection) according to a new protocol developed at the ICM.

This acquisition protocol consists of anatomical and diffusion sequences lasting approximately 1 hour.

The acquisitions were performed in a 3T MRI scanner, in the supine position with the palms facing upwards. Gadolinium was not used in our study.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Characterization of the microstructure by MRI diffusion in patients with a history of unoperated obstetrical brachial plexus palsy (OBBP)
Time Frame: 3 months max.
Extraction of diffusion tensor parameters (measurement of signal anisotropy ) along the different nerves constituting the brachial plexus, reconstructed using tractography.
3 months max.
Characterization of the microstructure by MRI diffusion in patients with a history of unoperated obstetrical brachial plexus palsy (OBBP)
Time Frame: 3 months max.
Extraction of diffusion tensor parameters, measurement of diffusivity, along the different nerves constituting the brachial plexus, reconstructed using tractography
3 months max.
Characterization of the microstructure by MRI diffusion in patients with a history of unoperated obstetrical brachial plexus palsy (OBBP)
Time Frame: 3 months max.
Comparison of metrics (Anitropy Fraction, Mean Diffusion) of healthy versus injured nerves. Each plexus is manually segmented by ITK SNAP in order to extract the nerve pathways of each plexus.
3 months max.
Characterization of the microstructure by MRI diffusion in patients with a history of unoperated obstetrical brachial plexus palsy (OBBP)
Time Frame: 3 months max.
Description of FA, MD parameter measurements on tractography sequences along the complete pathway of the brachial plexus nerves
3 months max.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Determination of the anatomical location of POPB lesions (trunk, terminal branches, etc.) in comparison with the contralateral healthy side of the patients
Time Frame: 3 months max.
Compare by MRI diffusion anatomical and diffusion measurements between different subjects
3 months max.
Analyze the plexus fibers altered by the neuroma in the affected plexuses
Time Frame: 3 months max.
Analysis of the qualitative characteristics of the axons studied in the plexus area of the neuroma in affected subjects (visual analysis of the roots affected by the neuroma compared with the healthy side, as well as measurement of the volumes in voxels)
3 months max.
Analyze the plexus fibers altered by the neuroma in the affected plexuses
Time Frame: 3 months max.
Analysis of the quantitative characteristics of the axons studied in the plexus area of the neuroma in affected subjects (fractional anisotropy, mean diffusion, axial diffusion and radial diffusion)
3 months max.
Establish anatomoclinical relationships with the data from the specific and in-depth clinical examination carried out in consultation
Time Frame: 3 months max.
Analysis of the apparent lesions visible on MRI
3 months max.
Analyze the feasibility of the DTI MRI acquisition protocol
Time Frame: 3 months max.
Feasibility : acquisition time (the acquisition time required to obtain image quality sufficient for post-MRI analysis),
3 months max.
Analyze the feasibility of the DTI MRI acquisition protocol
Time Frame: 3 months max.
Feasibility: imaging quality
3 months max.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Manon BACHY-RAZZOUK, PU-PH, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

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)

January 9, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 24, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 11, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 17, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 17, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 11, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • APHP211551
  • IDRCB: 2024-A02069-38 (Other Identifier: ANSM)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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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