Brain scans get new dimension
Neuro first in Quebec with technology; $2.5-million 3-D angiogram machine may
save lives of victims of strokes, aneurysms

AARON DERFEL
The Gazette


Friday, September 16, 2005


It looked like a scene straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey - classical music
piped into an immaculate white room, while a large mechanical arm glided with
balletic precision over a table.

Welcome to the new angio-graphy suite at the Montreal Neurological Hospital.
It's equipped with a $2.5-million biplane angiogram machine that can reconstruct
highly detailed

3-D pictures of the brain. The Neuro is the first hospital in Quebec to acquire
the technology.

In the control room yesterday, neuroradiologist Donatella Tampieri flashed a big
grin.

"Now I understand why my kids spend hours in front of the computer," Tampieri
said. "It's a really a great piece of equipment. I'm extremely excited."

The machine, however, is not just a fancy new toy for doctors. It will help save
the lives of those who have suffered strokes or who have brain aneurysms that
are in danger of bursting.

Until now, doctors have had to rely on two-dimensional images for diagnoses.
That has sometimes made it difficult for a neuroradiologist to visualize exactly
where an aneurysm is located in relation, to say, an optic nerve.

An aneurysm is a berry-sized bulge in a blood vessel. No one knows why some
people get them and others don't. But if it grows too big, the aneurysm can
bleed inside the brain, causing severe damage, even death.

There are two ways to treat an aneurysm. In extremely complex cases, doctors
perform brain surgery to clip the aneurysm. The other technique is to thread a
platinum filament to the aneurysm all the way from an artery near the groin.
Once the aneurysm is reached, the neuroradiologist packs it with the filament
until it's totally blocked.

Before deciding on the technique, doctors need the best possible images. The
Neuro performs about 550 angiograms a year.

Threading a filament into the brain is not without risks. In five to six per
cent of cases, the patient suffers complications, which can be fatal. Tampieri
said the new equipment will reduce the rate of complications.

The new technology will cut the length of time for an angiogram, which can run
as long as six hours, almost in half.

"We are providing the gold standard of care to our patients," said David Colman,
director of the Neuro.

Not only are the brain images more detailed, but doctors can view them on
computer screens in real time as the patient lies on the table. The 3-D pictures
can also be spun around on the screen and superimposed over MRI images. What's
more, doctors can peer inside millimetre-thin brain arteries, thanks to the
computer reconstructions.

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Online Extra: A Dutch study challenges the standard for treating heart attacks.
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C The Gazette (Montreal) 2005








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