Intraoperative, real-time, functional MRI

Functional MRI (fMRI) methods have been demonstrated to noninvasively ident ify motor-sensory, visual, and other areas of eloquent cortex for guiding s urgical intervention. Typically, fMRI data are acquired preoperatively duri ng a conventional surgical planning MRI examination. Unlike direct cortical stimulation at the time of surgery, however, preoperative fMRI methods do not account for the potential movement of tissues (relative to the time of functional imaging) that may occur in the surgical suite as a direct result of the intervention. Recently, an MRT device has been demonstrated for use in the surgical suite that has the potential to reduce the extent of corti cal exposure required for the intervention, However, the invasive requireme nts of cortical mapping may supersede the invasive requirements of the surg ical intervention itself. Consequently, we demonstrate here a modification to the intraoperative MRI device that facilitates a noninvasive, real-time, functional MR examination in the surgical suite.