CLEFT has provided £7,500 towards a pilot project with Dr. Malcolm Birch (Director of Clinical Physics at The Royal London Hospital) to develop techniques for 3-D MRI scanning of the palate. 

Current investigations of palate function involve either X-rays or endoscopy (looking with a telescope at how the palate is functioning). Neither of these investigations gives a three-dimensional view and neither allows the muscles of the palate to be identified. MRI techniques have improved over recent years and offer the potential for a much better understanding of the function of the palate and its individual muscles. It is hoped that the three-dimensional anatomical information which MRI can offer will enable more comprehensive pre- and post-operative assessments of cleft patients and improve our understanding of how the palate functions.