PEORIA, Ill., July 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagine being a surgeon who can plan a surgery in virtual reality (VR) by seeing the beating heart of a patient before walking into an operating room. Researchers at Peoria, Illinois-based OSF HealthCare and Bradley University believe they can make this vision a reality.
Matthew Bramlet, MD, is a pediatric cardiologist at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria who specializes in congenital cardiac MRI for OSF Children's Hospital of Illinois. His Advanced Imaging and Modeling (AIM) lab at Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center is focused on translation of medical images into 3D and 4D interactive models (for 3D printing for virtual reality) to assist in pre-surgical planning of complex cardiac and cancer cases.
According to Dr. Bramlet, the heart is a unique organ because it changes shape as it expands and contracts to pump blood through the body. This change in shape becomes a problem when the muscle of the heart grows abnormally and obstructs its own ability to pump blood out of the heart. This is a problem, because no current technology exists that allows a surgeon to view this 4D, dynamic obstruction.
Rather than relying on years of trial and error of surgical expertise to determine the correct way to cut out muscle to relieve the obstruction, this project seeks to provide the surgeon with a VR view of their next patient's beating heart in 4D.
The Innovation for Health (IFH) grant program with Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois is designed to inject funding ($50,000) to combine clinical problems with computer science expertise. Assistant Professor Sam Hawkins, PhD, and graduate students at Bradley University plan to utilize machine learning to convert standard medical images into a sequence of 3D models, that when played sequentially create a 3D beating heart; the "4D heart".
This concept has been previously demonstrated by Dr. Bramlet's AIM lab, but it took an entire summer to convert images to a 4D heart, showing both the expansion and contraction of the heart that could be viewed through a virtual reality headset. Dr. Bramlet says that's not a sustainable approach.
"How do we put the CT data into a computer and slice by slice, say this is the myocardial tissue so we get an exact replica of the heart. But I don't need just one (3D replica of a heart); I need 20 to make each phase of that heart (he simulates the sound of repetitive beats) into a 4D heart."
Assistant professor Hawkins believes machine learning can be leveraged to perform the labor-intensive process of converting images. Hawkins explains computer science graduate students at Bradley are part of the research effort.
"First, we need to figure out what part of the image is the heart and what part is not. And then we need to combine these tiny images into a 3D image. And then we need to do that many times to get the 4D."
The solution should allow surgeons to virtually preview the beating heart of their patient, showing the obstruction in 4D, therefore providing a new pre-surgical analysis tool. The multidimensional view allows surgeons to zero in on structures of the heart, significantly enlarge elements and get a much better view of the anatomy. This machine learned 4D generation of a beating heart will be a first of its kind technology.
Technology could expand use of VR for surgery planning
Researchers believe creating an automated solution can reduce the manual process of converting images from months to hours, and eventually perhaps minutes. That option could be applied to images for other types of complex medical cases in adults, children and the smallest infants.
Dr. Bramlet says new AI-supported software could provide a scaled solution for surgeons everywhere.
"The most immediate impact isn't going to be the 4D heart. The impact at a grander scale will be the scalability of how any program will be able to create models for pre-surgical planning; 3D printed or for VR with this technology." -Dr. Matthew Bramlet, pediatric cardiologist
Hawkins believes the technology will lead to other hospitals adopting the approach for pre-surgery planning.
"It has the potential to really remove the barrier of entry for institutions that don't have the expertise or the time but do have images they wanted to view (more intricately)."
This entire machine learning project has been made possible by Jump Simulation's long-term investment in sharing 3D insights. Since, 2014, Jump has contributed 3D models of congenital heart disease to Dr. Fauci's 3D database at the NIH. This library of annotated 3D models provides the rich dataset of raw material needed for machine learned insights into automated segmentation of patient specific 3D models.
Within a year, this project aims to automate, through machine learned algorithms, the conversion of cardiac CTs into virtual reality. The 4D view will enable surgeons to see the beating hearts specific to individual patients.
Additional assets associated with this news release, including photos and video (including B-roll) are available on the OSF Newsroom.
OSF HealthCare is an integrated health system owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, headquartered in Peoria, Illinois. OSF HealthCare has 15 hospitals – 10 acute care, five critical access - with 2,084 licensed beds throughout Illinois and Michigan. OSF employs nearly 24,000 Mission Partners throughout 150+ locations; has two colleges of nursing; operates OSF Home Care Services, an extensive network of home health and hospice services; owns Pointcore, Inc., comprised of health care-related businesses; OSF HealthCare Foundation, the philanthropic arm for the organization; and OSF Ventures, which provides investment capital for promising health care innovation startups. OSF OnCall, a digital health operating unit, was established in 2020 to improve patient experience, using digital tools for 24-7 communication, on-demand care, remote patient monitoring, and offers the largest hospital-at-home program in Illinois. OSF HealthCare has been recognized by Fortune as one of the most innovative companies in the country. More at osfhealthcare.org.
OSF Innovation is a collaborative network of different disciplines that designs bold, strategic solutions to advance the future of health care. Learn more at osfinnovation.org.
Bradley University is a top-ranked private university in Peoria, Illinois that offers nearly 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students, opportunities and resources of a larger university and the personal attention and exceptional learning experience of a smaller university. Bradley offers more than 185 undergraduate and graduate academic programs in business, communications, education, engineering, fine arts, health sciences, liberal arts and sciences, and technology. These high-quality programs incorporate global and experiential learning opportunities, preparing graduates to succeed in a complex world.
Contact: Colleen Reynolds| Media Relations Coordinator – OSF HealthCare | (309) 825-7255
SOURCE OSF HealthCare
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