Song Lai, an associate professor of radiology and the director of MRI physics, and other researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, in Philadelphia, developed software that integrates data from multiple imaging technologies to create an interactive 3-D map of the brain.

The enhanced visualization gives neurosurgeons a much clearer picture of the spatial relationship of a patient's brain structures than is possible with any single imaging methods. In doing so, it could serve as an advanced guide for surgical procedures, such as brain-tumor removal and epilepsy surgery.

Lai expects the program to be in operating rooms within the next year. It will initially be used for epilepsy and brain-tumor surgery, but "its ability to show the spatial relationship between structures of interest makes it general enough to be used for anything," says Lai.

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