Image processing software for seizure onset zone localization in refractory epilepsy

Abstract

Epilepsy is one of the most common serious neurological disorders in the world and a 30-40% of the affected population is resistant to the pharmacological treatment (refractory epilepsy). A possible treatment for them is the surgical resection of the epileptogenic zone (EZ). The success of the surgical treatment is fundamentally determined by the accuracy of presurgical identification of the EZ based on a variety of diagnostic tests. Among them, PISCOM technique is a multimodal imaging processing algorithm, useful for this purpose, yet not incorporated into clinical routine. This project aims to develop an ergonomic and user-friendly graphical interface that integrates the PISCOM algorithm to make the process become easy and accessible for clinicians. To create the graphical interface, different software environments were studied. The solution chosen was to develop an extension for 3D Slicer, an open-source software package used for medical and biomedical imaging research, and the processing method was therefore adapted to the new platform. The result was assessed with a clinic questionnaire filled out by two nuclear medicine physicians of Hospital Clínic de Barcelona after an introduction session of the developed extension. The extension was considered to be a user-friendly tool for applying the PISCOM technique, that fulfilled their requirements, and with future potential. Some next steps to improve the user experience were suggested...