Invention Novelty: A dissolvable polymer implant impregnated with contrast agent to improve anchoring with minimal tissue displacement.
Value Proposition:
The main limitation of current neuronavigation systems is that they rely on preoperative images for accurate navigation. The brain is susceptible to a phenomenon called brainshift due to CSF leakage or the collapse or moment of certain parts of the brain, drainage of intracranial cyst or the resection of tumor mass. Due to brainshift, the accurate presentation of functional as well as anatomical structures from preoperative images declines. To address the problem of brainshift, intraoperative imaging was employed over the last decade to provide the navigation with up-to-date images. Johns Hopkins researchers describe a method for placing a physical marker at the time of a surgical operation that can be used to identify critical areas of interest in post-operative imaging. Marking critical areas of interest intra-operatively with this marker offers the following advantages:
1. Improve the efficacy of therapies given post-operatively such as in the case of stereotactic radiosurgery.
2. Allows evaluating if the surgical goal has been achieved avoiding potential revision operations.
3. The marker is MRI compatible and is visible on MRI and CT imaging.
4. Can be used to highlight areas of residual tumor seen intraoperatively or critical anatomical structures identified intraoperatively.
Technical Details: The Johns Hopkins researchers described implanted mice with a polymer (polifeprosan) wafer containing an MRI contrast agent (Gadolinium) as a method of marking specific regions of the brain intraoperatively. The wafer successfully was picked up on MRI imaging post-implantation. Durability of the wafer marking was demonstrated when MRI Imaging was picked up after 17 days of post-implantation.
Publication: WO 2016/025786
