Why people bring a spine scan here
A lumbar MRI report reads like a wall of levels and Latin: "L4-L5 broad-based disc protrusion with moderate bilateral foraminal narrowing, mild facet hypertrophy." Nobody hands you a diagram of which nerve root that actually touches, or why it lines up with the pain running down the outside of your calf. You are left re-reading the same paragraph, trying to figure out if "moderate" is the word you should be worried about.
That gap matters most when sciatica has dragged on for months, when a tingling neck and numb fingers keep you up, or when a neurosurgery consult is still weeks out and the waiting room silence is the worst part. You want to walk in already knowing whether the leg pain traces back to L4-L5 or L5-S1, whether the finding is a bulge or an extrusion, and whether the images support surgery talk or a round of physiotherapy first.
Upload the same lumbar or cervical MRI, spine X-ray, or spine CT your clinic already has, and the panel reads the levels back to you in plain language — which segment, which nerve root, and how that graded wording usually plays out in spine care.
What the spine analysis covers
The panel is built for lumbar, cervical and thoracic MRI, spine X-ray — including flexion-extension views that catch instability a static shot misses — and spine CT for bone detail an MRI does not resolve well. It walks disc by disc, looking at disc desiccation and disc height loss, bulges versus protrusions versus true extrusions, and whether a fragment is sitting free in the canal.
It measures central canal stenosis against the thecal sac, checks the lateral recess and neural foramina for narrowing, and flags nerve root contact versus outright compression — the detail that usually decides whether a symptom matches an imaging finding at all. It also reads the vertebrae themselves: Modic endplate changes, Schmorl nodes, facet joint arthropathy and hypertrophy, ligamentum flavum thickening, spondylolisthesis graded on the Meyerding scale, pars defects, scoliosis and sagittal alignment, and vertebral compression fractures.
For a cervical MRI it looks specifically for cord signal change, and for anyone who has already had a fusion, it accounts for the hardware instead of flagging it as a new finding. The report then explains, level by level, what the graded language means and what typically follows in spine care — watchful waiting, a course of physiotherapy, an epidural or facet injection, or a referral to a spine surgeon.
Who ends up using this
Desk-bound office workers who have carried a dull low back ache for years and finally got imaging. People with sciatica burning down one leg who want to know which disc is the culprit before they see a surgeon. Anyone with neck pain and tingling running down an arm after a cervical MRI came back with unfamiliar terms on it.
Older adults with neurogenic claudication who can only make it a block before their legs give out and want to see the stenosis that is causing it. And people already weighing a discectomy against a fusion, trying to understand what their own scan shows before they commit to either.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can AI see which disc is pressing on my nerve?
It can point to the level where a disc bulge, protrusion or extrusion touches or displaces a nerve root, and describe how much of the root is affected. It reads the same axial and sagittal slices a radiologist reads — it does not replace their sign-off, but it can tell you which level to ask about.
What does "foraminal stenosis" mean on my lumbar MRI?
It means the opening where a nerve root exits the spinal canal has narrowed, usually from disc height loss, a bulging disc, or facet joint hypertrophy crowding the space. The panel explains which side, which level, and whether the narrowing is described as mild, moderate or severe in your report.
Is a disc bulge the same as a herniation?
No. A bulge is a broad, low-grade outward extension of the disc that often causes no symptoms at all. A herniation covers protrusions and extrusions, where disc material pushes further out or breaks free — those are more likely to contact a nerve root and cause the pain that sends someone in for imaging in the first place.
Can it read a spine X-ray as well as an MRI?
Yes, including flexion-extension X-rays, which catch instability between vertebrae that a single static image misses. X-ray shows bone alignment, disc height and spondylolisthesis well; it cannot show disc material or nerve compression the way an MRI can, and the panel explains that difference alongside your images.
Will it tell me whether I need back surgery?
No. It explains what the imaging shows and the kind of care that finding typically leads to — physiotherapy, an injection, or a surgical referral — but the decision between a discectomy, a fusion, or continued conservative care belongs to you and your spine surgeon, weighing your exam and history alongside the images.
Does my spine MRI get uploaded anywhere?
Your raw DICOM series is parsed and rendered entirely in your browser. Only the rendered slice images needed for the AI panel are sent for analysis, and only when you choose to run it — the original files never leave your device.
This tool explains imaging, it does not diagnose, and it does not replace a spine surgeon, neurologist or radiologist. Loss of bladder or bowel control, saddle numbness, progressive leg weakness, fever with back pain, or back pain with unexplained weight loss are emergency signs — seek care immediately rather than waiting on an upload. Your raw scan stays in your browser throughout; only the rendered images used for analysis are ever sent.