After laboratory development, MR Neurography was configured for use on a clinical GE Signa MRI scanner in November of 1992. The first patient image led to the discovery that the fascicle pattern inside the nerve could be seen in an image. This image also proves that the structure imaged is indeed a nerve. The image was published in the Lancet in 1993 and received extensive world wide attention.
A) Cross section of the thigh. The arrow indicates the sciatic nerve. This patient had suffered a stab wound to the the thigh which had severed his sciatic nerve.
B) Blow up view of the sciatic nerve revealing the internal fascicle structure.
C) A three dimensional reconstruction of the nerve based on "maximum intensity projection" of the nerve. This image closely matches the shape of the sciatic nerve seen in the photograph (D).
D) Intraoperative photograph taken during surgery. The photo shows the cut sciatic nerve. The arrow indicates the suture line where nerve grafts have been sown into place.