ISCAS AWARD Winners 2016 : Rina Zelmann

Until July 2016 I worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, Canada. The goal of the research projects was to improve the accuracy and increase the amount of information obtained during the invasive investigation of patients with medication refractory epilepsy that are candidates for surgery. To this end, we optimized depth electrode implantation planning and designed procedures to estimate the location of the electrodes. Importantly, all procedures were integrated into an image guided neurosurgery system (IGNS). Our work “A framework for the identification and classification of depth electrodes” was selected as the best ISCAS paper at CARS/ISCAS 2016.

My research aims to improve the methodology for the pre-surgical evaluation of patients with refractory epilepsy, leading to better-tailored resections. I did my PhD in Biomedical Engineering, McGill University, at the Montreal Neurological Institute. I also hold a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from McGill University and a degree in Electronics Engineering from University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. I am currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University.

One of the biggest challenges of IGNS research is translation from the bench to the bedside. Having clinicians as part of the research team is fundamental to achieve this goal. The CARS/ISCAS community lies at the intersection of both engineering research and clinical application, allowing networking and encouraging collaborations that enormously help in clinical translation of current IGNS research. Another important related challenge is the widespread acceptance of new methodologies. Research systems usually require a high degree of training to operate them, limiting their clinical use to the center where the researcher is or centers we collaborate with. Integrating our procedures into clinical commercial systems is the next step towards real widespread clinical application of our research. To help us achieve this goal, CARS/ISCAS is uniquely positioned as a liaison between industry and research labs.