Stereotactic neurosurgery for movement disorders involves the accurate localization of functionally distinct subcortical anatomy that appears homogeneous on magnetic resonance or computed tomographic images. To aid localization of these surgical targets on patient images, we have developed a visualization oriented searchable and expandable database of functional organization representing bilaterally the sensorimotor thalamus, pallidum, internal capsule, and subthalamic nucleus. Data were obtained through microelectrode recording and stimulation mapping routinely performed during 123 functional stereotactic procedures. Electrophysiologic data were standardized using a multi-parameter coding system and annotated to their respective MRIs at the appropriate position in patient stereotactic space. To accommodate for normal anatomical variability, we have developed an intensity-based nonlinear registration algorithm that rapidly warps a patient's volumetric MRI to a high-resolution MRI average brain. The annotated functional data are subsequently transformed into the average brain coordinate system using the displacement grids generated by the algorithm. When the database is searched, clustering of like inter-patient physiologic responses within target anatomy and adjacent structures is revealed. These data may in turn be registered to a preoperative MRI using a desktop computer enabling prior to surgery interactive delineation of surgical targets. The database is expandable, fully searchable, and provides a visual 3D representation of subcortical functional organization.

Date Published: 17 May 2002
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 4681, Medical Imaging 2002: Visualization, Image-Guided Procedures, and Display, (17 May 2002); doi: 10.1117/12.466919

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4681:
Medical Imaging 2002: Visualization, Image-Guided Procedures, and Display
Seong Ki Mun, Editor(s)