The Intraoperative Imaging Society (IOIS) held its 7th society meeting March 13-16, 2019, in Houston, TX. On invitation from IOIS, the Foundation’s Brain Program Director, Francesco Prada, MD, collaborated with Geirmund Unsgärd, MD, Professor and former Chief of Neurosurgery at St. Olav’s University Hospital of Trondheim, Norway, to host a practical course on intraoperative ultrasound that attracted approximately 50 attendees.
Dr. Prada also gave two additional talks in the session entitled “Intraoperative Ultrasound, Focused Ultrasound, Surgical Robotics, and other Modalities,” moderated by Richard Bucholz, MD (Neurosurgeon, St. Louis Univ.) and Daniel Orringer, MD (Neurosurgeon Univ. of Michigan): the first on direct microbubble imaging, quantitative microbubble dynamic analysis, and implications for focused ultrasound treatment, and another on an acoustic transparent skull prosthesis versus patient skull flap to be implanted at the time of surgery: the prosthesis allows for direct brain imaging with both B-mode and microbubble, offering the option to perform ultrasound-guided focused ultrasound treatments.
“The society’s attention to ultrasound in general was much higher than two years ago,” said Prada. “I was able to help neurosurgeons understand that focused ultrasound applications extend beyond functional neurosurgery. The ultrasound course was a great success, and interest in focused ultrasound will continue to grow in this society.”
Other than the Dr. Prada’s microbubble presentation, another interesting ultrasound related presentation was performed by Prof. Unsgärd’s on fluid-enhanced acoustic coupling of organic tissues. This concept was originally conceived to improve intraoperative imaging but might also be used to facilitate energy deposition during focused ultrasound treatments.
The meeting’s only focused ultrasound only presentation was by Julie Pilitsis, who gave a talk on Magnetic resonance-guided interstitial high-intensity focused ultrasound for brain tumor ablation.
IOIS formed to develop the utility and potential of intraoperative imaging, including MRI. IOIS includes clinicians, scientists, and industry representatives who are interested in therapeutic interventions that are performed with the assistance of intraoperative imaging. It provides a forum for comparing imaging techniques and determining their clinical efficacy.