Sunnybrook Research Institute

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

St. Michael's Hospital.

Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care

Providence St. Joseph's and St. Michael's Healthcare

Simon James Graham

Fred Tam

Tom Andreas Schweizer

Stephen C Strother

Nicole Baker

Richard Mraz

Melanie Anne Morrison

Sunit Das

Ian Clarkson

Mahta Karimpoor

Marco Garavaglia

Laleh Golestanirad

Stephen Strother

Tom A Schweizer

Systems and methods of are disclosed for providing visual feedback to a subject during magnetic resonance imaging, where the visual feedback is associated with input provided by the subject to a magnetic resonance compatible touch panel. A video camera is employed to record video images of the interaction between the subject and the touch panel, and the video images are processed to generate a real-time video signal including a rendering of the input provided to the touch panel and the interaction between the subject's hands and the touch panel. The real-time video signal is provided to the subject as visual feedback, and is displayed within a time duration that is sufficiently fast to avoid the detection of the visual feedback as an error signal with the subject's brain in relation to the sense of proprioception. A measurement of the force applied to the touch panel by the subject may be recorded and employed when rendering the real-time video. The systems and methods may be employed for a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures involving magnetic resonance imaging.

Systems and methods for providing visual feedback of touch panel input during magnetic resonance imaging

Systems and methods are provided for performing an intraoperative assessment of brain function based on input that is obtained using a touch panel device, in response to a task, and in the presence of an intervention that is applied to a selected region of the brain. The intervention may be stimulation of the selected region of the brain, such as direct cortical stimulation. In some embodiments, a measure is determined based on the input received from the touch panel. The measure may be a performance measure, related to the performance of the task, and/or a functional measure, associated with an inferred function of the selected region of the brain. In some embodiments, an image of the brain that is registered to an intraoperative reference frame may be annotated or otherwise modified within the selected region based on the measure.

System and method for intraoperative characterization of brain function using input from a touch panel device

Electrodes for use in neural stimulation applications, shaped to have fractal or pseudo-fractal geometries, with a generally planar core portion of the electrode using a base fractal geometry. A series of successively smaller holes is provided in the core portion, where each hole in the generally planar core portion can have a perimeter shape that is self-similar to a perimeter shape of the generally planar core portion. The selected electrode geometry affects the spatial distribution of the electric field in neuron-bearing tissue. This spatial distribution is related to the irregularity&#x2014;or non-uniformity&#x2014;of current density on the electrode surface. Optimized electrode geometries increase the efficiency of neural stimulation by maximizing the spatial variation of current density on the electrode surface.

Electrode designs for efficient neural stimulation

The present invention provides a method and device to record and visualize drawing and writing movements during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of brain activity. The system includes a touch-sensitive tablet, an elevated mounting platform, a stylus, and a controller box, as well as the necessary cabling and software. All equipment residing inside the magnet room is non-ferromagnetic and does not interfere with scanner operation and does not affect fMRI data quality. Individuals lying inside the scanner interact with device in a natural, intuitive way, similar to writing with pen and paper. Drawing motions captured by the tablet are displayed through a pair of fMRI-compatible goggles or by using a projector and screen. Other visual stimuli can be concurrently presented with the drawing motions for the purpose of assessing specific aspects of human behavior. The system allows for a plurality of experiments to be performed, all while brain activity is measured and recorded.

Method and system for computerized drawing and writing during functional magnetic resonance imaging

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Toronto, Canada

Simon James Graham