Technique maps brain in a snap
October 4th 2009 04:26
Signature Tune
By CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY, Staff writer
First published in print: Saturday, October 3, 2009
ALBANY -- When removing a piece of the brain, location makes a world of difference. If the surgeon cuts one millimeter in the wrong direction, the patient may lose the ability to speak, or a pathway that controls thumb movement, or worse.
For five decades, neurosurgeons seeking to avoid damaging critical brain tissue have used the same technique to map the brain before surgery. Researchers at Albany Medical Center, however, are developing a new technique they hope will be quicker, safer and more accurate.
"It's passive, bed-side, real-time; it takes seconds," said Dr. Anthony L. Ritaccio, a neurosurgeon and director of the epilepsy and human brain mapping program at Albany Med. Most important, he added, is that the technique can create an instant snapshot of brain activity by charting different parts of the brain as its cells fire.
Early results of the work done by Ritaccio and Gerwin Schalk, a professor of neurology at Albany Medical College and a research scientist at New York state's Wadsworth Center, were published in the July edition of the journal Epilepsy & Behavior.
Surgery to remove part of the brain is sometimes the only remaining option for epilepsy patients who haven't responded to drug treatment.
When that occurs, the gold standard for mapping the functions of the brain before surgery is electrical cortical stimulation, in which the surgeon lays a plastic grid of platinum electrodes on the surface of the brain. The contacts along the grid are electrically stimulated and the surgeon observes the effect on the patient.
Often, the patient is awake; the technique can take two to seven hours. While usually safe, the technique has risks, including the possibility that the electrical current could trigger seizures in patients with epilepsy.
But at the Wadsworth Center, researchers developed sophisticated software to analyze brain waves -- the electrical signals created by brain activity. The technology, called Brain Computer Interface 2000, is already being used to help quadriplegics control a computer keyboard with their thoughts.
Ritaccio and Schalk have adapted the technology to essentially "listen to the surface of the brain," and identify the functions each area controls.
Using their method, the same plastic grid is laid on the surface of the brain, but the grid is attached to a computer running BCI2000 and original software called Signal Modeling For Real-Time Identification and Event Detection, or SIGFRIED.
The doctor can watch the patient's brain activity as the patient runs through certain exercises, like playing with a toy, speaking, moving his or her fingers or listening to a story. The software identifies electrodes that buzz from the brain's natural electrical activity, instantly recognizing the areas that control a skill.
From: timesunion.com
link here for the full article for those who would like to read more
| 34 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
Comment by Wilson Pon
Health 2 Know
Adventure Toes
boxing sound
Business Rope
Fun Places 2 Travel
Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
MS Paint Art