Descripción del proyecto
Cartografiado de la subcorteza cerebral humana como si se tratase de «tierra inexplorada»
La subcorteza representa aproximadamente una cuarta parte del volumen del encéfalo humano. Los atlas del encéfalo humano realizados mediante imagen por resonancia magnética (IRM) solamente contienen el 7 % de las estructuras de materia gris subcortical. Es probable que este porcentaje sea tan bajo debido al reducido tamaño de los núcleos subcorticales y a la amplia distancia entre la subcorteza y la bobina de la cabeza. El proyecto financiado con fondos europeos Atlas cartografiará la subcorteza cerebral humana (como «tierra inexplorada») y creará una herramienta para localizar y visualizar nuevas dianas para la estimulación cerebral profunda (ECP). El objetivo del proyecto es crear atlas probabilísticos para la cirugía mediante ECP con un nivel de detalle sin precedentes, así como una aplicación en 3D para fines educativos.
Objetivo
The human subcortex is a highly crowded brain area, which consists of hundreds of unique, small grey matter nuclei constituting approximately ¼ of total human brain volume. Importantly, only approximately 7% of these nuclei are currently accessible in standard human brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) atlases (Forstmann et al., 2016). This low percentage can have several imaging related causes, including the small size of subcortical nuclei as compared to the voxel size, which is particularly relevant when applying 1.5 or 3 Tesla (T) MRI. Additionally, the challenges posed by the large distance of the subcortex from the head coil may be a cause. In light of the vast amount of uncharted brain areas, one can also think of the human subcortex as ‘terra incognita’. The aim of this proposal is to chart ‘terra incognita’ to create a tool to identify and localize new targets for DBS.
Major efforts of my group have already been directed towards resolving at least part of the challenges of imaging the human subcortex through the development of ultra-high field resolution 7T magnetic resonance imaging (UHF-MRI) sequences tailored to image the subcortex. Within our project ‘Atlasing the human subcortex’, collaborations with world-leading companies in DBS technology such as Boston Scientific (http://www.vercise.com/index.cfm) have been established. Here, we aim to extend these efforts by applying for funding for research personnel that will execute the manual segmentations and validation of new potentially more efficient target areas for DBS neurosurgery. These efforts will lead to creating probabilistic atlas maps for DBS surgery with unprecedented detail as well as a 3D app for educational purposes both in the clinical and basic neurosciences. These efforts will ultimately lead to commercial products that have already attracted attention of world-leading DBS companies.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept GrantInstitución de acogida
1012WX Amsterdam
Países Bajos