High definition fiber tracking, or HDFT, could help surgeons plan their approach to remove brain tumors. Researchers report in the journal Neurosurgery that HDFT’s colorful, detailed images of the brain’s fiber network accurately reflect brain anatomy observed in surgical and laboratory studies. In deep brain surgery, the neurosurgeon may need to cut or push brain fiber tracts, meaning the neuronal cables connecting the critical brain areas, in order to get to a mass, says Juan Fernandez-Miranda, assistant professor of neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh.
