Gray Matters: Navigating the Brain During Neurosurgery

Researchers from MIR and the neurosurgery department at Washington University School of Medicine are collaborating with medical device maker Medtronic to build a better navigational system for brain surgery. The goal is to develop a software program that creates personalized 3-D “maps” of a patient’s brain anatomy and the location of key functions, like speech and movement, to guide physicians during neurosurgeries. A $3.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health is funding the endeavor.

Joshua Shimony, MD, associate professor of radiology, and Eric Leuthardt, MD, professor of neurosurgery and of mechanical engineering and applied science are co-principal investigators of the grant.