University of Algarve (UAlg) professor Pedro Gonçalves Pereira, professor at the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Medicine (DCBM), represented the Algarve university at the annual scientific ceremony of the Burdenko Institute, in Moscow, to report on the results of the innovative work that has developed in the field of radiology, a pioneer in Portugal.
The researcher and professor of Neuroradiology is coordinating a work "that allows to reduce the surgical risk of removing the lesions and, above all, to increase the probability of intact preservation of the functions of the cranial nerves compressed by the tumors". In addition to this Portuguese team, the technique is only used “in a few neuroscience centers in Europe and the United States of America”, according to UAlg.
The work "includes an advanced development of the technique of Magnetic Resonance Tractography (MRI) which is applied in the surgical planning of cranial base tumors, for the identification and preservation of cranial nerves during the operation".
«In relation to other centers that have also developed equivalent techniques, our approach has the advantage of being able to be performed in a time interval that is compatible with a normal MRI exam. For example, there are centers that take 40 minutes to acquire the images. The method we developed allows us to obtain the same information in 6 minutes, with all the comfort advantages for patients, in addition to achieving superior diagnoses, also due to the other technical parameters used», explains Pedro Gonçalves Pereira.
«More recently another method was created, called CICE and which is complementary to the
, aimed at enhancing diagnostic sensitivity, particularly in cases of large tumors or with multi-compartmental anatomical invasion,” added UAlg.
The UAlg professor was in Moscow to present the results of clinical investigations in about 70 patients already operated on in several Portuguese hospitals (Lisbon, Porto and Funchal). The Burdenko Institute “has the particularity of being the university hospital with the largest neurosurgical sample in the world and also the oldest”.
This ceremony was attended by dozens of physicians, directors of the various services (Skull Neurosurgery, Tumor Spine and Degenerative Spine, Radiosurgery, Functional Surgery, Skull Base, Vascular, Endoscopic Surgery, Orbit, Neuro-oncology) and related specialties (Anesthesia, UCI, ORL, General Radiology and Neuroradiology, Neurology).
The work developed at UAlg «was very well received, fundamentally because it is focused on the implementation of an efficient protocol adapted to the daily routine of the heavy routines of Neuroradiology and Neurosurgery».
“In this way, we are able to respond to surgical planning with a 27-minute protocol, which includes the new CICE technique, which is very fast in providing the location of the cranial nerves. pre-op», explained Pedro Pereira.
This meeting resulted in a proposal to install CICE at the Burdenko Institute for clinical purposes and in a context where MR exams are carried out every day to study cranial base tumors. “It took three years to have 40 patients to be able to test this development (CICE). The Burdenko Institute colleagues have this statistic in a month», illustrated the UAlg researcher.
Additionally, support for the translation of the Tractography protocol was also requested.
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