Description

Our group generates multimodal datasets with complex interpretative challenges in the absence of a shared reference framework: regularly sampled post-mortem human brain metabolomic data, histological data, and functional data derived from intraoperative electrical stimulation during tumor resection performed under awake surgery. Currently, the spatial localization of stimulation sites is established by the surgeon, based on a photograph of the operative cavity taken at the end of resection, showing the stimulation points. This method, from which an extensive body of literature has emerged, is subjective, poorly reproducible, and highly dependent on anatomical expertise. We propose to improve this approach through surface acquisitions of the surgical field, derived from the FIBRASCAN method developed by our group. This method enables precise reconstruction of white matter fiber tracts from the dissection of post-mortem anatomical specimens within an MRI volume. Several alternative techniques adapted to the intraoperative setting will be evaluated (surface scanning technologies used in oral and dental surgery and photogrammetry). An individual atlas will then be constructed (one individual/one modality). For functional responses, stimulation sites will be mapped onto the preoperative MRI following realignment of pre- and postoperative data. For metabolomic and histological data, values will be registered to the MRI acquired prior to brain sectioning. In a second step, the individual atlases from these different modalities will be transformed into a common anatomical reference space (MNI template). Ultimately, this framework will be made available to the scientific community, enabling the integration of data from multiple teams using the same methodologies and the aggregation of anatomical data (MRI-based white matter tractography), functional data (stimulation sites and evoked responses), microscopic data (histology), and molecular data (metabolomics).

 

Co-supervision :

Frédéric Andersson, iBraiN Inserm U1253 / Univ Tours (frederic.andersson@univ-tours.fr)

Igor Lima Maldonado, iBraiN Inserm U1253 / Univ Tours (maldonado@univ-tours.fr)

Co-advisor:

Barthélémy Serres, Iliad3 UAR METIS / Univ Tours (barthelemy.serres@univ-tours.fr)

 

The research group hosting the PhD project collaborates with several leading international laboratories in the field and regularly participates in major international conferences and workshops on neuroimaging.
The atlas data generated during the project will be made available to the scientific community through the European EBRAINS platform.
Collaborations planned during the PhD project:
- UAR METIS / CETU ILIAD3 – University of Tours
- Laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Computer Science of Tours (LIFAT) – EA 6300 / CNRS ERL 7002 / University of Tours
- BAOBAB Unit / NeuroSpin – Université Paris-Saclay / CNRS / CEA

Skills required

Medical imaging / Neuroimaging Programming skills (python) Brain anatomy Image registration 3D

Bibliography

Sarubbo S, De Benedictis A, Merler S, Mandonnet E, Balbi S, Granieri E, & Duffau H. (2015). Towards a functional atlas of human white matter. Human brain mapping, 36(8), 3117–3136. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.22832 Zemmoura I, Serres B, Andersson F, Barantin L, Tauber C, Filipiak I, Cottier JP, Venturini G, & Destrieux C (2014). FIBRASCAN: a novel method for 3D white matter tract reconstruction in MR space from cadaveric dissection. NeuroImage, 103, 106–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.09.016 Serres B, Zemmoura I, Andersson F, Tauber C, Destrieux C, Venturini G (2013). Brain virtual dissection and white matter 3D visualization. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 184, 392 396. Morichon A, Dannhoff G, Barantin L, Destrieux C, & Maldonado I L (2024). Doing more with less: Realistic stereoscopic three- dimensional anatomical modeling from smartphone photogrammetry. Anatomical sciences education, 17(4), 864–877. https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.2402

Keywords

Data Fusion Brain Imaging Brain Atlases Brain Stimulation Neuroanatomy