Imaging and Diagnosis in Neurosurgery

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Imaging and Theranostics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2025 | Viewed by 795

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Division of Brain Sciences, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK
Interests: neurosurgery; neuro-oncology; neuro-anatomy; optics and robotics applied to neurosurgery

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As you know, technological advancements in neurosurgery are progressing rapidly, with several novel diagnostic tools being tested or introduced into clinical practice.

This exciting Special Issue of Diagnostics focuses on translational research into new diagnostic technologies across the vast domain of neurosurgical practice.

We are particularly interested in showcasing the state of the art and the most experimental developments in radiology, AI, virtual reality, intra-operative imaging/diagnostics, and laboratory testing within neurosurgery in the broadest possible terms, thus including vascular, neuro-oncology, skull base, endoscopic, pediatric, functional, spinal, peripheral nerve surgery, pain, and trauma.

We welcome submissions in the form of clinical trials, pilot studies, case series, narrative reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. While case reports are generally discouraged, they will be considered on an ad hoc basis if the technology utilized demonstrates a novel or revolutionary approach. Suitable topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Novel imaging technologies in neurosurgery, including innovative MRI sequences and magnetic electroencephalography;
  • Diagnostic advancements in endovascular neurosurgery;
  • Novel intraoperative diagnostic technologies, including (but not limited to) the following:
    • Fluorescence-guided surgery;
    • Spectroscopic technologies (e.g., Raman, confocal, and hyperspectral);
    • Müller matrix polarization;
    • Intraoperative neuromonitoring;
    • Two/three-dimensional endoscopes;
    • Exoscopes.
  • Peri-operative diagnostic tools using AI-based software and/or virtual reality simulations, including those for pre-operative planning;
  • Peri-operative laboratory diagnostics, including liquid biopsies.

All types of articles are welcome, whether perspectives, reviews, or original research articles. However, as the Special Issue’s title suggests, the submitted work should present the state of the art and the novelties of the subject.

I look forward to receiving insightful submission; please feel free to send me any specific enquiries.

Dr. Giulio Anichini
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • MRI sequences
  • magnetic electroencephalography
  • endovascular neurosurgery
  • fluorescence-guided surgery
  • spectroscopic technologies (e.g., Raman, confocal, and hyperspectral)
  • müller matrix polarization
  • intraoperative neuromonitoring
  • two/three-dimensional endoscopes
  • exoscopes
  • artificial intelligence
  • laboratory diagnostics

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 1107 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Porphyrin Peak Shift and Fluorescence Lifetime in Gliomas with Different Tumor Grades, Intratumoral Regions, and Visible Fluorescence Status
by Lisa Irina Körner, David Reichert, Marco Andreana, Angelika Unterhuber, Mikael T. Erkkilae, Jessica Makolli, Barbara Kiesel, Mario Mischkulnig, Thomas Rötzer-Pejrimovsky, Adelheid Wöhrer, Mitchel S. Berger, Rainer Leitgeb and Georg Widhalm
Diagnostics 2024, 14(23), 2651; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14232651 - 25 Nov 2024
Viewed by 589
Abstract
Background: 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)-induced protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) fluorescence shows high sensitivity in detecting the tumor core of high-grade gliomas (HGG) but poor sensitivity for tissue of low-grade gliomas (LGG) and the margins of HGG. The characteristic emission peak for PpIX is known to [...] Read more.
Background: 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)-induced protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) fluorescence shows high sensitivity in detecting the tumor core of high-grade gliomas (HGG) but poor sensitivity for tissue of low-grade gliomas (LGG) and the margins of HGG. The characteristic emission peak for PpIX is known to be located at 635 nm. Recently, a second emission peak was described at 620 nm wavelength in LGG and the tumor infiltration zone of HGG. Methods: During surgery, samples from the tumor core and tumor infiltration zone of 43 WHO grade 2–4 gliomas were collected after preoperative 5-ALA administration, and their PpIX emission spectra, as well as fluorescence lifetimes, were determined by ex vivo analysis. Subsequently, the relative PpIX peak contribution (RPPC) was retrieved by calculating the integral of the two bands corresponding to the two emission peaks of PpIX (615–625 nm, 625–635 nm) and correlated with fluorescence lifetimes. Results: The mean RPPC decreased in samples with descending order of WHO grades, non-fluorescing samples, and infiltrative tumor regions, indicating a shift toward the 620 nm peak in porphyrin fluorescence. The porphyrin peak shift across all specimens correlated with lower fluorescence lifetimes (R: 0.854, R-squared: 0.729). Conclusions: The observed peak shift has important implications for fluorescence lifetime analyses since the lifetimes of other porphyrins contribute to the overall decay dynamics. Based on these initial data using fluorescence lifetime, this knowledge is of major importance, especially for detecting tissue from LGG that lack visible fluorescence, to further optimize the visualization of these tumor tissue using this promising imaging modality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging and Diagnosis in Neurosurgery)
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