Stealth Technologies is developing an imageguided neurosurgery workstation called the NeuroStation (TM) with the principle objective of providing intra-operative localization information to the neurosurgeon using diagnostic MRI and CT images. A natural and arguably necessary extension to image-guided neurosurgery workstations is the ability to integrate real-time ultrasound imagery into the intra-operative localization process. This functionality is motivated by two elements: 1) the need for the neurosurgeon to monitor intra-operative diagnostic imagery and relate these images to presurgical diagnostic imagery (MRI/CT) and localization information, and 2) the need to track the brain shift that may occur during a neurosurgical procedure and to correct presurgical diagnostic imagery to accurately reflect this brain shift. In this proposed Phase l R&D effort, Stealth Technologies will complete the laboratory studies and will perform the preliminary clinical studies necessary to validate the technical and clinical feasibility of a stereotactic ultrasound system that will be integrated into the NeuroStation . The proposed stereotactic ultrasound system will consist of a custom-designed ultrasound unit for stereotactic neurosurgery that will intra-operatively provide localized ultrasonography, registered multimodal (CT/MRI/Ultrasound) visualization, 3D ultrasound datasets. and brain-shift correction for pre-surgical CT/MRI datasets. This type of stereotactic ultrasound system will very likely become a standard accessory for image-guided neurosurgical systems like
