Abstract: Disclosed herein are physiological phantoms incorporating sensors and sensor materials integrated with a tissue phantom of an anatomical part. The sensors and sensor materials include small diameter optical fibers containing Bragg gratings, thermochromic materials, electrical strain gauges, flexible strain gauges, shape sensing cables, electrochromic materials and etc. The sensors and sensing materials may mimic tissue as part of the tissue phantom. They may mimic the directionality, density, elasticity of the anatomical tissues they may be mimicking. The sensors and sensing materials may be sensitive to strain, heat, electricity, shape, light, and etc. similar to what may occur during medical procedures using various medical devices and tools such as a scalpel, a needle, a deep brain stimulation probe, a port used in brain or spinal surgery and etc.

Abstract: A device and method for guided insertion of microelectrodes into tissue is provided. The device includes a flexible optical fiber for optical coherence tomography imaging, a metal layer coating the optical fiber for recording electrical signals and an outer insulation layer coating the metal layer along the optical fiber length. The method includes inserting an optical fiber coated with a metal layer and further coated with an insulation layer into a tissue, collecting intraoperative image data through the optical fiber by optical coherence tomography, receiving the image data on a computer and displaying the image on a monitor, using the image data to determine a location in the tissue, receiving an electrical nerve signal through the metal layer and measuring the electrical nerve signal on a electrophysiological recording system.

Abstract: A device and method for guided insertion of microelectrodes into tissue, the device involving a flexible optical fiber for optical coherence tomography imaging, a metal layer coating the optical fiber for recording electrical signals and an outer insulation layer coating the metal layer along the optical fiber length, and the method involving inserting an optical fiber coated with a metal layer and further coated with an insulation layer into a tissue, collecting intraoperative image data through the optical fiber by optical coherence tomography, receiving the image data on a computer and displaying the image on a monitor, using the image data to determine a location in the tissue, receiving an electrical nerve signal through the metal layer, and measuring the electrical nerve signal on an electro-physiological recording system.

Abstract: A device and method is provided for a suction tool combined with an optical probe. A suction device is provided having a tip with a hollow tubular body, a plurality of optical fibers embedded in the tip and a concentric ring attached to the tip, wherein the ring end has an inner beveled reflective surface opposing the optical fibers. A method is provided for optically measuring tissue in a medical procedure comprising suctioning a tissue using a suction device, sending optical signals along optical fibers through the suction device; directing the signals from the optical fibers onto the tissue using a beveled surface; receiving optical signals from the tissue in optical fibers via the beveled reflective surface; measuring the received optical signals in a spectrometer or detector; and releasing, resecting or ablating the tissue through the suction device.

Abstract: An improvement to an image processing system for enhancing the contrast of digital images using a local-area contrast enhancement of the digital images. For each digital image, a contrast factor is computed which is a measure of how well exposed the digital image is based on a normalized intensity value for each of the image pixels. A gain value for each of the image pixels is determined, and scaled by the contrast factor. A surround image based on a filtered version of the digital image is formed and using in conjunction with the scaled gain values to perform opponent contrast filtering to the digital image to produce an output image.

Abstract: A method, system and apparatus for controlling a surgical navigation system are provided. The method 1 comprises receiving image data at a processor from a tracking system; receiving, at a processor, an identifier of a surgical instrument within a field of view of the tracking system; generating, at the processor, output data based on the identifier of the surgical instrument; and transmitting the output data to at least one output device connected to the processor, for controlling the output device.

Abstract: An optical imaging system for imaging a target during a medical procedure. The imaging system includes an optical assembly including moveable zoom optics and moveable focus optics. The system includes a zoom actuator and a focus actuator for positioning the zoom and focus optics, respectively. The system includes a controller for controlling the zoom and focus actuators independently in response to received control input. The system includes a camera for capturing an image of the target from the optical assembly. The system may be capable of performing autofocus during a medical procedure.

Abstract: A method for calibrating an optical axis of a camera mounted to a movable structure is disclosed. The method includes: for each of two or more standoff distances for the camera: capture, using the camera, image data of a target marker while the movable structure is undergoing rotation about a fixed axis, the target marker being a grid of squares each including unique detectable features; determine a respective center of rotation based on the captured image data; determine a first axis which goes through the centers of rotation; and determine a transform between the first axis and a second axis through the center of output image of the camera.

Abstract: Some implementations provide an MRI system that includes: a housing having a bore accommodating a portion of a subject; a main magnet enclosed by said housing and configured to generate a substantially uniform magnet field within the bore; a gradient sub-system to provide perturbations to the substantially uniform magnet field; a flexible coil assembly configured to (i) receive radio frequency (RF) signals from the subject in response to the portion of the subject being scanned, and (ii) generate and apply B0 shimming to improve a field homogeneity of the substantially uniform magnetic field; and a control unit configured to: drive the gradient sub-system using a gradient waveform; and receive measurement results responsive to the gradient waveform such that a coupling between the gradient sub-system and the flexible coil assembly is determined and subsequently reduced in response to the determined coupling exceeding a pre-determined threshold.

Abstract: A magnetic resonance (MR) imaging system includes a transmit radio frequency (RF) coil assembly comprising multiple capacitor banks each coupled to at least one diode that is characterized by a high breakdown voltage such that when the transmit RF coil assembly applies at least one slice-selecting RF pulse to a portion of a subject placed in the magnet to select a particular slice for MR imaging, the capacitor banks are selectively adjusted to improve an RF transmission characteristics of the RF coil assembly in transmitting the at least one slice-selecting RF pulse. The MR imaging system may further include a receive radio frequency (RF) coil assembly configured to, in response to at least the slice-selecting RF pulse, receive at least one response radio frequency (RF) pulse emitted from the selected slice of the portion of the subject; a housing; a main magnet; gradient coils; and a control unit.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a tool used to producing anatomical phantoms. The tool includes an inner flexible mold which sits inside a rigid, thermally conductive outer shell. The rigid shell may be made out of aluminum. The silicone mold and thermally conductive shell both include at least two interlocking components. The shell is held together by a locking mechanism which can expand upon internal pressure. An anatomical phantom is produced from polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel by freezing and thawing a PVA liquid precursor in the silicone mold and demolding it.

Abstract: A method is provided for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging near metal, including acquiring an image at a first magnetic field from a subject that includes a metal object, acquiring an image at a second magnetic field, and combining the images to provide a corrected image with reduced metal distortion. An MR imaging system for measuring near metal is also provided including a superconducting magnet to provide a magnetic field, a power supply for a current to ramp the magnetic field, a cryocooler in contact with the superconducting magnet, a magnetic field controller programmed to ramp the main magnetic field by adjusting the current generated by the power supply, a radio frequency system for transmitting and receiving signals, and a data aquisition and processing system to receive the MR signals, generate image data sets and combine the image data sets to provide a corrected image having a reduced metal distortion.

Abstract: Mechanisms for image processing are provided. A computing device comprises a memory, an input device, a display, and a processor. The processor is configured to: acquire a three-dimensional image of an anatomical structure and store it in the memory. The processor renders on the display (i) an initial volume of the three-dimensional image corresponding to an initial portion of the anatomical structure, and (ii) a moveable control element. The initial volume has an outer surface defined by a position of the control element. The processor receives input data updating the position of the control element relative to the initial volume; and renders on the display, in place of the initial volume, a further volume of the three-dimensional image, corresponding to a further portion of the anatomical structure and having a further outer surface defined by the updated position of the control element.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a system for and a method of obtaining a magnetic resonance image by performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at multiple slices simultaneously. The method comprises generating a multiband pulse sequence for spin-echo imaging, the pulse sequence comprising a multiband excitation pulse and at least one multiband refocusing pulse, wherein the multiband excitation pulse simultaneously excites multiple bands, wherein the at least one multiband refocusing pulse simultaneously refocuses the multiple bands, and wherein the phases of the bands excited by the multiband excitation pulse and the phases of the bands refocused by the at least one multiband refocusing pulse are set according to a single row of an orthogonal encoding matrix. The multiband excitation pulse and the at least one multiband refocusing pulse collectively form a multiband pulse pair.

Abstract: A surgical navigation system and method for identifying positions on a patient, including a processor, and a tracking system for tracking a pointer tool. The processor is programmed to initialize a surface trace acquisition, continuously record the positions of the pointer tool during the surface, conduct trace acquisition, combine the positions recorded during the surface trace acquisition into a surface trace, receive a patient image of the patient, extract a surface from the patient image, compute a registration transform between the surface traces and the surface for patient registration, segment the patient image into a regions where each region contains an anatomical landmark, determine a spatial distribution of surface traces among the regions; determine whether the spatial distribution in relation to each region minimizes deviance below a threshold, and if the determination is exceeding the threshold, provide information relating to such region.