Sonar Technologies Have Been Adapted for Brain Science
When great minds from disparate fields get together, amazing things can happen. Brain science is benefitting today from the announcement of a surprising partnership between sonar specialists with submarine experience and a radiologist.
Kieran Murphy met Paul Lovoi at a conference in 2004. Lovoi was a sonar specialist, seeking new discoveries that might help his wife who had recently suffered a stroke. He approached Murphy and their conversation led to the creation of a seven-member team including retired U.S. Naval Captain Charles MacVean (with a Ph.D in nuclear science and engineering), and Johns Hopkins neurologist Dr. Eric Aldrich.
“It was a fabulous group of people to work with,” notes Murphy, speaking with Better Brain Better Life from the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 36th Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago. “No one was paid for the work and we improvised, buying some of our equipment on eBay.”
The device they created uses sonar technology to ‘read’ what is going on in the brain. It is portable, non-invasive and easy-to-use, consisting of a simple headset and portable laptop-based console.
“The system is very simple in principle, yet it yields exceedingly rich data,” says Murphy, director of research and deputy chief of radiology at the University of Toronto and University Health Network, Toronto. “It works to measure a patient’s complex brain pulsations and provides information on the type and location of an abnormality in many of the same ways as sonar works on submarines. Both use an array of sensors to measure movement and generate signals to be processed and analyzed, matching the signals to objects or conditions. Just as sonar differentiates whales from vessels, our device distinguishes cerebral abnormalities such as aneurysms, ischemic strokes and traumatic brain injury, from normal variations in physiology.”
The device’s continuous monitoring capability is unique and gives it many advantages over traditional neuro-diagnostic equipment. “The patient can wear it during surgery, or while walking around at home,” notes Murphy. “I can see it being very useful during heart surgery where patients are at increased risk for stroke, or for patients who have experienced a mini-stroke which places them at risk of having another stroke. It could also be used in situations of war where medics need to know quickly if a soldier is brain dead or has been knocked unconscious.”
While more research on the device is needed, in a proof-of-principal trial on 40 patients it accurately assessed a wide variety of brain events. The device was able to separate normal brain function from all other conditions, separate all patients with a specific condition into their own category and provide information about the location of the abnormality.
While the results are positive indeed, the team now needs to conduct a larger study. They also want to make the device simpler and more robust. Murphy guesses that it could be commercially available within three years.
After working with his team in relative isolation for seven years, Murphy was excited to present the results of their work to his professional colleagues at the Chicago conference. “One has to eventually share one’s work and figure out if one isn’t crazy,” he allows.
Turns out Kieran Murphy and his team aren’t crazy, but they are open-minded and intellectually adventurous, dedicated and persistent. Their collaboration has led to the best kind of science, taking a ‘what if’ and creating something that truly serves humankind.
Copyright 2011, Paddy Kamen. Not to be used in whole or part without permission.
