Intraoperative identification and display of cortical brain function

Abstract

The objective of this research was to design and develop a system capable of displaying cortical brain function during image-guided neurosurgery. Brain function was determined using a cortical stimulator, classified according to function type, and displayed along with pre-operative tomographic and rendered images of the brain. In addition to displaying brain function acquired from the patient undergoing surgery, a probabilistic map of functional information acquired from a database or previous patients may also be displayed. This information is stored in an atlas coordinate system and can be mapped to the patient's coordinate system for display during surgery.

The entire system was tested and evaluated during three human neurosurgery procedures. Functional information corresponding to speech, motor, and sensory regions was identified and displayed during surgery. This data was then mapped to a common reference database using a non-linear registration algorithm to evaluate the feasibility of using this system to create a functional atlas of the human brain.