For the past decade, a research team led by a Duke professor has been developing a platform to convert 2D MRI brain scans into interactive 3D holographic visualizations to assist brain surgeons.
With the platform HoloSNS — created by Professor of Biomedical Engineering Cameron McIntyre and his team — physicians and scientists can use virtual reality headsets to visualize different regions of the brain and map neural connections, allowing them to pinpoint and target the precise locations of blood vessels essential for treatment.
According to McIntyre, such visualizations are especially helpful for surgeries in which planning takes longer than the procedure itself.
He added that when doctors can deliberate on the procedure without the time pressure of a patient on the table, “[the focus becomes] more about the cognitive process of optimizing the plan for the surgery more than it is doing the actual surgery.” HoloSNS is able to support surgeons in person and remotely, allowing teams worldwide to collaborate in real time.
The team is now exploring new clinical applications of this technology, aiming to enhance deep brain stimulation — an implanted neurotechnology that is used to treat neurological disorders or tremors associated with Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy.
However, as the team works to develop the platform, McIntyre noted that integrating academic research software with imaging systems approved by the Food and Drug Administration presents many ethical and legal challenges.
“It takes a lot of work [and] a lot of paperwork to then be able to do the [clinical trials],” he said, noting the regulatory challenges that come with receiving Institutional Review Board approval and obtaining informed consent from patients.
Still, McIntyre emphasized that attempting to find a way to reconcile FDA-approved commercial grade neurological software with academic brain research software would provide “real value” to surgeons.
Today, advancements in medical technology continue to fuel growing interest in the research, with McIntyre specifically referring to “brain connectomics research, [also known as] brain mapping research.”
Moving forward, the research team aims to refine mapping technologies and incorporate new scientific data into clinical trials and beta tests.
“We’re on the verge of actually being able to communicate with the brain and have the brain communicate back with us,” McIntyre said in an interview with Duke Today.
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Addison Smith is a Trinity first-year and a staff reporter for the news department.