A new technology involving the fusion of four different types of images into a 3-D map of a patient’s brain has helped University of Cincinnati (UC) specialists successfully remove a fist-sized tumor from a brain.

The multiple brain scans from MRI, fMRI, diffusion tensor imaging, and computed tomography angiography were fused and installed into a surgical guidance computer. By revealing the tumor’s relationship to all of the functional centers, and electrical pathways and arteries and veins in the patient’s brain, the technology made it possible to map out a safe pathway to the tumor.