Infrared thermography for intraoperative functional mapping In glioma surgery

Gliomas are a deadly and often malignant category of brain tumor for which survival remains at tens of months. Complete tumor removal increases survival, however this is limited by tumor spread into critical functional areas which cannot be removed. Currently, direct electrical stimulation (DES) is used to map these area intraoperatively to avoid postoperative neurologic damage. However, DES is low spatial resolution (-1 cm), only maps one area at a time, and can cause intraoperative seizures. Alternatively, a strong relationship between brain cortex temperature and local functional activation has been described. This project investigates a new method of intraoperative functional mapping based on infrared thermal imaging, which is high resolution (-0.1 mm) and can simultaneously monitor all exposed brain regions. We will first standardize a set of motor, sensory, and language tasks which produce a reliable cortical temperature response, and compare sensitivity and specificity of this response against DES. Next, we will develop a real-time processing and display pipeline, which can quickly identify functional areas and inform the surgical team. This project will create a new, high precision intraoperative functional mapping too! for glioma surgery, with the goal lengthening survival while minimizing postoperative neurofogic complications.