STTR Phase I: Will stereoscopic 3D imaging improve brain aneurysm diagnosis?

这个SBIR一期项目旨在关注神经放射学家和神经外科医生在观察复杂脑动脉瘤时遇到的挑战。脑动脉瘤发生在2-3%的人群中，是供应大脑的血管的气球样扩张，可能破裂并导致严重的头痛、瘫痪、昏迷和死亡。目前，放射科医生通过磁共振成像（MRI）扫描使用“逐片”的方法来诊断脑动脉瘤，不幸的是，使用这种方法，近十分之一的脑动脉瘤会被遗漏。增强图像感知解释的技术将提高诊断的准确性。这个NSF项目旨在为放射科医生创造生理上准确的3D认知体验，以提高脑动脉瘤的诊断准确性。更广泛的意义是将其应用于其他医学领域，包括心脏成像、癌症成像和创伤，这些领域在美国最常见的死亡原因中排名第一、第二和第三。拟议的研究是由一家美国小公司开展的，符合美国国家科学基金会（NSF）的要求。美国的使命是促进国家的健康、繁荣和福利。为医学开发的精准3D认知体验满足NSF？美国的使命是推动科学进步，但在工程、工业和教育领域具有潜在的商业影响。这个NSF项目旨在为神经放射学家和神经外科医生创造一种生理上准确的3D认知体验，用户可以在不受其他覆盖组织阻碍的情况下准确地查看感兴趣的结构。该项目旨在克服当前成像技术的重大局限性。典型的磁共振血管造影（MRA）检查包括数百个横截面切片。传统的逐片观看是困难的，因为观看者必须筛选一系列图像切片，以在心理上重建与检测异常相关的体积信息。由于前景中结构的重叠导致深层结构的可视化不理想，在2D监视器上3D图像的体绘制受到严重限制。此外，2D显示器上的体绘制实际上并不能再现眼-脑对3D图像的生理捕捉。该项目的目标是通过生理上准确的3D认知体验，与传统的观看方法相比，实现更高的灵敏度、更高的特异性和改进的形态学分析。神经放射学志愿者将使用传统方法和生理上准确的3D体验来回顾MRA检查。该项目的主要结果包括诊断准确性、检测时间、动脉瘤显著性和动脉瘤形态学，将使用这两种技术进行评估。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This SBIR Phase I project aims to focus on the challenges neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons experience when visualizing complex brain aneurysms. Brain aneurysms, which occur in 2-3% of the population, are balloon-like dilations of a blood vessel supplying the brain which may rupture and result in severe headaches, paralysis, coma and death. Currently, radiologists viewing Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans use a 'slice-by-slice' approach to diagnose brain aneurysms and unfortunately with this approach, nearly one in ten brain aneurysms will be missed. Technologies that enhance perceptual interpretation of images will increase diagnostic accuracy. This NSF project aims to create a physiologically accurate 3D cognitive experience for the radiologist with the goal of increasing diagnostic accuracy of brain aneurysms. The broader significance is the application to other areas of medicine including heart imaging, cancer imaging and trauma, which account for the #1, #2 and #3 most common causes of death in the U.S. The proposed research is rooted in a small US based company and meets the NSF?s mission to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare. The accurate 3D cognitive experience developed for medicine meets NSF?s mission of progress of science, but has potential commercial impact in engineering, industry and education. This NSF project aims to create a physiologically accurate 3D cognitive experience for the neuroradiologist and neurosurgeon wherein the user can view exactly the structures of interest unhindered by other overlying tissues. This project aims to overcome the significant limitations of current imaging techniques. A typical magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) exam includes hundreds of cross-sectional slices. Conventional slice-by-slice viewing is arduous because the viewer has to sift through a series of image slices to mentally reconstruct the volumetric information relevant for detecting abnormalities. Volume rendering of a 3D image on 2D monitors is significantly limited due to overlap of structures in the foreground causing suboptimal visualization of deeper structures. Furthermore, volume rendering on 2D monitors does not actually recapitulate the physiologic eye-brain capture of a 3D image. The goal of this project is to achieve higher sensitivity, higher specificity and improved morphologic analysis using a physiologically accurate 3D cognitive experience compared to conventional viewing methods. Volunteer neuroradiology fellow participants will review MRA examinations using conventional methods and the physiologically accurate 3D experience developed in this NSF grant. Key outcomes of this project including diagnostic accuracy, time-to-detection, aneurysm conspicuity and aneurysm morphology will be assessed using the two techniques.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.