The Pma Mouse and the Developmental Basis of Clubfoot: MRI Anatomical Modelling of Human ICTEV (Clubfoot)

Clubfoot is a medical condition of the foot known to doctors as "Congenital Talipes Equinovarus (CTEV)", which affects at least 2 per 1000 Scottish births (ISD data). Affected babies are born with one or both feet in an abnormal position. Treatment with plaster casts, and occasionally with surgery, is necessary to get the foot into a normal position.

We know from our animal and clinical studies and published work that the normal processes of development of the foot continue through pregnancy and postnatally. Clubfoot has never been studied by MRI antenatally in humans, and examination of the foot before birth may offer aetiological clues, not apparent from a single postnatal scan. Additionally, robust information that will help to understand which features of clubfoot in utero predict a truly affected fetus could be very useful for the clinical care of those suspected to be affected at a 20 week scan. This study will provide preliminary data to determine whether the usefulness of MRI in this context should be explored in future studies.