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

该SBIR I期项目旨在关注神经放射科医生和神经外科医生在可视化复杂脑动脉瘤时遇到的挑战。脑动脉瘤，发生在2-3%的人口中，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，放射科医生查看磁共振成像（MRI）扫描使用“逐层”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将被遗漏。增强图像感知解释的技术将提高诊断准确性。该NSF项目旨在为放射科医生创建生理上准确的3D认知体验，以提高脑动脉瘤的诊断准确性。更广泛的意义是应用于其他医学领域，包括心脏成像，癌症成像和创伤，这是美国最常见的死亡原因之一，第二和第三。我们的使命是促进国民健康、繁荣和福利。为医学开发的精确3D认知体验符合NSF？的使命的科学进步，但在工程，工业和教育的潜在商业影响。该NSF项目旨在为神经放射科医生和神经外科医生创建生理上准确的3D认知体验，其中用户可以准确地查看感兴趣的结构，而不受其他覆盖组织的阻碍。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。传统的逐切片观察是困难的，因为观察者必须筛选一系列图像切片以在精神上重建与检测异常相关的体积信息。由于前景中的结构重叠导致较深结构的次优可视化，因此2D监视器上的3D图像的体积渲染受到显著限制。此外，2D监视器上的体绘制实际上并不概括3D图像的生理眼-脑捕获。该项目的目标是实现更高的灵敏度，更高的特异性和改进的形态分析，使用生理上准确的3D认知体验相比，传统的观看方法。志愿神经放射学研究员参与者将审查MRA检查使用传统的方法和生理学上准确的3D经验，在这个NSF赠款开发。该项目的关键成果，包括诊断准确性，检测时间，动脉瘤的显着性和动脉瘤形态将使用这两种技术进行评估。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

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.