Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute Now Using QuicktomeTM Brain Mapping Technology To Visualize Key Areas of the Brain Related To Speech and Other Key Functions During Complex Brain Surgery

Edison, New Jersey (July 27, 2023) – Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute continues to get better, adding state of the art technology to aid in the best treatment of our patients. The three nationally-recognized neuroscience institutes at Hackensack University Medical Center,  JFK University Medical Center and Jersey Shore University Medical Center are equipped with QuicktomeTM Brain Mapping Technology. The Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Hackenack Meridian’s three academic medical centers are the only hospitals in New Jersey offering this technology.

QuicktomeTM, an FDA cleared precision brain mapping platform by Omniscient Neurotechnology (o8t™) is designed to visualize a patient’s unique brain networks prior to life-changing surgery. The mapping allows neurosurgeons to view images of the portions of a patient’s brain that make up their unique personality, and develop a strategy to leave these portions of the brain intact, while performing brain surgery to remove tumors and other brain abnormalities.

This technology, which uses artificial intelligence to process millions of data points derived from a standard MRI scan, makes crucial brain insights easily accessible and actionable for Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute neurosurgeons. 

“Quicktome has become invaluable in pre-surgical planning and in advising patients regarding the potential benefits and consequences of brain surgery,” said Nitesh Patel, M.D., Co-Director of Neurosurgical Oncology at the Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. “With its clear brain network visualizations, neurosurgeons can better develop an informed surgical plan that helps achieve the maximal safe removal of the tumor with cautious avoidance of adjacent brain networks.”

The technology leverages “connectomics,” or the study of the brain’s connections and functional networks. It is one of the first clinical platforms to allow neurosurgeons to create network templates of an individual’s cognitive and emotional regulation networks within the brain. Literature shows that damage to these brain networks during surgery can cause a variety of problems, ranging from depression to dramatic changes in personality, severely impacting a patient’s quality of life. 

Prior to the introduction of Quicktome, surgeons relied on older generations of brain imaging platforms that provided limited information based on anatomical landmarks. Quicktome’s machine learning algorithm creates patient-specific brain maps, allowing physicians to tailor surgical approaches to a patient’s individualized anatomy.

“Before Quicktome, neurosurgeons relied on anatomical atlases of neural networks to determine eloquent anatomy near a particular area of the brain where surgery needed to be performed,” Dr Patel said. “Connectomics has allowed us to better understand neural networks than ever before. Quicktome allows for a connectomics based approach that can be adapted and modified to fit an individual patient’s anatomy and better predict critical regions / networks in their brain, allowing for the best patient outcomes.”

Dr. Patel and others have used Quicktome for example to preserve a patient’s speech, by having her sing throughout the surgery to remove a brain tumor to ensure he wasn’t impacting her speech networks.

See the Quicktome brain mapping technology in use here.

Quicktome is just one example of the state of the art technology at the Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute used to treat neurological issues including brain tumors, while preserving not only brain function but neuro pathways specific to each individual patient. The Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at JFK University Medical Center uses Surgical Theater augmented reality technology to visualize. This technology is also used by doctors to practice a surgery before they perform it, and to demonstrate to patients what needs to be done. 

For the treatment of benign and malignant brain tumors and other conditions of the head and neck, the Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Jersey Shore University Medical Center will offer ZAP-X® Gyroscopic Radiosurgery® with Synaptive MRI beginning this fall, a non-invasive precision treatment that delivers high-dose radiation to brain tumors without destroying healthy brain cells. Thanks to a generous donation from the Golden Dome Foundation, the Dr. Robert H. and Mary Ellen Harris ZAP-X Center for Noninvasive Neurosurgery at the Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Jersey Shore University Medical Center will be the sixth in the nation to have ZAP-X, the only one in the Northeast, and globally the first to pair it with Synaptive MRI, shortening the time from diagnosis to treatment. The Neuroscience Institute also skillfully uses Gamma Knife, Cyber Knife, proton therapy and fluorescence targeted radiation in the treatment of brain tumors, tremors and other neurological issues. 

“Treating our patient’s conditions, but also preserving their quality of life is always the goal at the Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute,” said Maria Coello, Vice President of Care Transformation Services including Neurosciences. “We continue our commitment to keep getting better, by continually adding technology like Quicktome to meet the needs of our patients. In the hands of our expert physicians these tools allow us to meet the growing needs of our patients.”

About Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute

The Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute, dedicated to providing comprehensive care for patients with neurological disorders across the state of New Jersey and beyond. The Institute is comprised of the comprehensive neurological staff at Hackensack University Medical Center, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, and JFK University Medical Center with a focus on conditions like brain and spine tumors, Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and other movement disorders, stroke, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and neuromuscular diseases like multiple sclerosis. 

The Neuroscience Institute at HMH’s three academic medical centers have earned national recognition from US News & World Report for Stroke Care, and Hackensack University Medical Center is ranked No. 42 in the nation for neurology and neurosurgery. Each academic medical center has earned the Comprehensive Stroke Center designation from the Joint Commission, and the Institute includes Centers of Excellence in ALS, Memory Loss and Brain Health, Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke, and Cranial Surgery. The Institute has earned additional national recognitions for excellence from Healthgrades, the Joint Commission, and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. The Neuroscience Institute boasts state of the art neurological and neurosurgical technology including High Intensity Focused Ultrasound, Quicktome brain mapping and Surgical Theater augmented reality for brain surgery, the only sites in New Jersey offering these services. The Neuroscience Institute will soon offer ZAP-X® Gyroscopic Radiosurgery® with Synaptive MRI, allowing for the non-invasive treatment of brain tumors, the first in the world to offer this technology pairing.

About Omniscient Neurotechnology

Omniscient Neurotechnology (o8t™) builds personalized brain maps to diagnose, treat and prevent health conditions. It operates on the core belief that a better understanding of an individual’s brain will lead to better outcomes for billions of people. Omniscient is a pioneer in connectomics, the study of the brain’s connections, and is poised to change the future of neuroscience. Already used by neurosurgeons to visualize the brain’s pathways prior to a procedure, the company’s technology ultimately aims to transform brain health and address conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and depression. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia with offices throughout the world, Omniscient’s team consists of leaders in neurology, data science and big tech. To learn more, visit o8t.com.

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