Janaki Raman Rangarajan1, 2, Greetje VandeVelde3, 4, Kris van Kuyck5, Maarten Depypere6, Friso van Gent5, Tom Dresselaers3, Uwe Himmelreich3, Frederik Maes<su
1Medical image Computing -ESAT/PSI, K.U. Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; 2IBBT-K.U.Leuven Future Health Department, K.U. Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; 3Biomedical NMR unit, Department of Medical Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, K.U. Leuven, Belgium; 4Molecular Small Animal Imaging Center (MoSAIC), Faculty of Medicine, K.U. Leuven; 5Laboratory for Experimental Functional Neurosurgery, Dept. of Neurosciences, K.U. Leuven; 6Medical image Computing -ESAT/PSI, K.U. Leuven, Belgium; 7Medical image Computing -ESAT/PSI, K.U. Leuven, Leuven, Flanders, Belgium
Neuro-degeneration research using small animal models, often involve stereotactic intervention to deliver cells or contrast agents (1) DBS therapies atspecific anatomical targets. When in-accurate, the animal experiments can be inconclusive or misleading, thus increasing the number of animals, the cost, and the duration of the study. Here errors in 2D representative atlas based small animal stereotactic surgery is investigated. By using multi-modal information of brain, skull and vasculature we identify the source of variability and as well the deleterious effect of in-accurate stereotactic surgery. Although the results are preliminary, the findings has gained interest among neuro-scientists who see the opportunity to include the vasculature information for planning stereo-tactic investigations in small animal models. In future, optimal planning and image-based follow up of stereotactic surgeries in small animals may help exclude outlier animals at an much earlier stage, and possibly may reduce the number of animals used for such experiments.