How do you find, in a complex network like the human brain, the one spot that causes a short circuit? For neurologist and professor Maeike Zijlmans (UMC Utrecht), this is part of her daily work. Together with Erasmus MC and SURF, she worked on a method that uses augmented reality (AR) to make invisible details visible during surgery.
“Epilepsy is essentially a network disorder,” Zijlmans explains. “To achieve a cure, we need to know exactly where the fault in that network lies.” For people with severe, drug-resistant epilepsy, brain surgery is often the last resort. The aim of such an operation is to remove the piece of tissue that causes the seizures, without damaging healthy functions.
Surgeons place mats with electrodes (‘electrode grids’) directly on the brain to measure electrical signals. But there is a problem. These mats are small, can deform, and sometimes partially slide under the edge of the skull or the dura mater. Zijlmans explains: “You need to know exactly where each electrode is located in relation to the brain in order to interpret the measured signals correctly. With the naked eye, this requires a great deal of time and expertise.”
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Submitted by Daniel Harris
