Virtual resection puts surgical planning under the knife

John Bernabei, current M.D., Ph.D. student, and Lohith Kini, M.D., Ph.D., were the primary co-authors on a new publication in Brain on Thursday. In their paper, the authors introduced and shared a set of network-based techniques aimed at predicting the most effective surgical resection zone in epilepsy patients.

Virtual resection, as the technique is called, has been shown to identify patients who are most likely to benefit from the removal of epileptic tissue. Within this patient group the authors hope their tools can specify the most important regions for removal, ensuring the highest probability for post-surgical seizure freedom.

Additionally, the authors show that in some cases tissues close to the seizure onset zone can work to dissipate, or “desynchronize” seizure activity from the start. Identifying these desynchronizing networks enables physicians to plan around them, avoiding their removal in a resection or ablation procedure.

Bernabei and Kini both contributed to this work as members of the CNT, a multidisciplinary environment that seeks to bridge gaps between fields in its research.

“We brought together senior faculty from Neurology, Neurosurgery, Radiology, and Bioengineering to guide a translational project using network neuroscience to guide patient care,” Bernabei says. “I’m fortunate to have mentors here who are dedicated to helping me achieve my goals as a physician-scientist in training.”

To read the full article in Brain click HERE.

 

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