Neuroimaging Aids for Treatment of CNS Vision Pathology

描述（由申请人提供）：该项目的目标是开发功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）工具，用于评估和治疗患有脑肿瘤或其他涉及视觉系统（特别是视觉皮层）的局灶性病理的人类患者。这样的患者可能面临困难的决定，平衡积极的、侵入性的病理治疗与涉及部分或完全丧失视力的副作用。核心技术包括创建癌症部位附近视觉皮层功能的大脑地图的方法，并将其与称为功能场地图（FFMap）的独特显示技术联系起来。后者使医生能够很容易地解释功能磁共振成像活动模式的视力保护/损害，从而评估侵入性治疗的潜在副作用。使用新型视野缺损模拟器，患者可以体验特定治疗方案可能导致的潜在视力丧失的模拟。这些工具将有助于诊断，治疗计划和后续评估几乎任何局部病理，但特别是癌症。根据这项拨款（以及随后的第二阶段提案），目前存在于Pi实验室中的原型系统将针对临床使用和商业化进行优化。初步验证测试将扩大，以验证商业化的可行性。将通过在放射科安装测试系统来证明概念验证。并使用它来获取，分析和显示来自患有脑视觉缺陷的患者志愿者的数据。一组经验丰富的医生，包括放射科医生，神经外科医生和放射肿瘤学家将评估该方法的效用。项目的成功完成将产生一个已安装和运行的原型系统，并对临床实用性进行初步评估。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this project is to develop functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) tools for assessing and treating human patients with a brain neoplasm or other focal pathology involving the visual system, especially visual cortex. Such patients can face difficult decisions balancing aggressive, invasive treatment of the pathology with side- effects involving partial or complete loss of vision. The core technology includes methods for creating a brain map of visual cortex function near a cancer site and linking this to a unique display technology, termed a Functional Field Map (FFMap). The latter allows the physician to easily interpret the fMRI activity patterns in terms of vision preservation/impairment and thereby assess the potential side effects of invasive treatment. Using a novel Visual Field Defect simulator, the patient can experience a simulation of potential vision loss that a particular treatment scenario might cause. These tools will aid diagnosis, treatment planning, and follow-up assessment for virtually any localized pathology, but especially cancer. Under this grant (and a subsequent Phase II proposal), the prototype system that currently exists in the Pi's lab will be optimized for clinical use and commercialization. Initial validation tests will be extended to verify the feasibility of commercialization. Proof of concept will be demonstrated by installing a test system in the Radiology Dept. of an affiliated hospital and using it to acquire, analyze and display data from patient volunteers having brain-based vision deficits. A team of experienced physicians including radiologists, neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists will assess the utility of the approach. Successful project completion will produce an installed and functioning prototype system with initial assessment of clinical utility.