Photogrammetry of the human brain: a novel method for 3D the quantitative exploration of the structural connectivity in neurosurgery and neurosciences.

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Photogrammetry of the human brain: a novel method for 3D the quantitative exploration of the structural connectivity in neurosurgery and neurosciences.

World Neurosurg. 2018 Apr 13;:

Authors: De Benedictis A, Nocerino E, Menna F, Remondino F, Barbareschi M, Rozzanigo U, Corsini F, Olivetti E, Marras CE, Chioffi F, Avesani P, Sarubbo S

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Anatomical awareness of brain's structural connectivity is mandatory for neurosurgeons, to select the most effective approaches for brain resections. Although standard micro-dissection is a validated technique to investigate the different white matter (WM) pathways and to verify results coming from tractography, the possibility of an interactive exploration of the specimens and of a reliable acquisition of quantitative information has not been described so far. Photogrammetry is a well-established technique allowing an accurate metrology on highly defined 3D-models. The aim of this work is to propose the application of photogrammetric technique for supporting the 3D-exploration and the quantitative analysis on the cerebral WM connectivity.
METHODS: The main peri-sylvian pathways, including the superior longitudinal fascicle (SLF) and the arcuate fascicle (AF) were exposed using the Klingler's technique. The photogrammetric acquisition followed each dissection step. The point-clouds were registered to a reference MRI of the specimen. All the acquisitions were co-registered into an open-source model.
RESULTS: We analyzed five steps, including: the cortical surface, the short intergyral fibers, the indirect posterior and anterior SLF, and the AF. The co-registration between the MRI mesh and the point-clouds models resulted highly accurate. Multiple measures of distances between specific cortical landmarks and WM tracts were collected on the photogrammetric model.
CONCLUSIONS: Photogrammetry allows an accurate 3D-reproduction of WM anatomy, and the acquisition of unlimited quantitative data directly on the real specimen during the post-dissection analysis. These results open many new promising neuroscientific and educational perspectives, also for optimizing the quality of neurosurgical treatments.

PMID: 29660551 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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