HyperProbe: Transforming brain surgery by advancing functional-guided neuronavigational imaging

近年来，随着成像技术(如MRI、PET、CT等)的进步，术前中枢神经系统(CNS)病变的临床定位使神经外科医生在切除肿瘤时规划和导航远离脑功能位置成为可能。然而，神经导航在脑肿瘤外科治疗中仍然是一个巨大的挑战，因为术中无法维持病变和非病变位置的准确空间信息。为了应对这一挑战，我们组建了一支由工程师、物理学家、数据科学家和神经外科医生组成的团队，开发了一种创新的全光术中成像系统，该系统基于(I)用于快速、多波长光谱获取的高光谱成像(HSI)，以及(Ii)用于图像重建和分子指纹识别的人工智能(AI)。我们的术中HSI系统(HyperProbe)将(1)绘制、监测和量化感兴趣的生物分子；(2)手持和用户友好；(3)应用基于人工智能的方法重建光谱图像、分析空间光谱数据以及开发和量化新的生物标志物。我们将在体模、体内对照神经导航成像的黄金标准模式来验证开发的能力，并最终在脑肿瘤手术中提供原则证据。HyperProbe旨在提供目前在神经肿瘤学干预中缺失的感兴趣生物标记物的功能和结构信息。

In recent years, through the advancement of imaging technologies (such as MRI, PET, CT, among others) clinical localisation of lesions of the central nervous system (CNS) pre-surgery has made possible for neurosurgeons to plan and navigate away from functional brain locations when removing tumours. However, neuronavigation in the surgical management of brain tumours remains a significant challenge, due to the inability to maintain accurate spatial information of lesioned and non-lesioned locations intraoperatively. To answer this challenge, we have put together a team of engineers, physicists, data scientists and neurosurgeons to develop an innovative, all-optical intraoperative imaging system based on (i) hyperspectral imaging (HSI) for rapid, multi wavelength spectral acquisition, and (ii) artificial intelligence (AI) for image reconstruction and molecular fingerprint recognition. Our intraoperative HSI system (HyperProbe) will (1) map, monitor and quantify biomolecules of interest; (2) be handheld and user-friendly; (3) apply AI-based methods for the reconstruction of spectral images, the analysis of spatio-spectral data and the development and quantification of novel biomarkers. We will validate the developed capacity in phantoms, in vivo against gold standard modalities in neuronavigational imaging, and finally provide proof of principle during brain tumour surgery. HyperProbe aims at providing functional and structural information on biomarkers of interest that is currently missing during neuro-oncological interventions.