海角社区

Improving Care For Brain Tumors

Cavernous malformations are vascular tumors in the brain or spinal cord. Although 鈥渂enign鈥� as opposed to cancerous, these blood vessel lesions can still cause serious health problems, such as epilepsy, stroke, and blindness, as well as issues with movement, numbness, and tingling throughout the body. This is primarily because cavernous malformations tend to burst or bleed, which can impact nearby tissues in spontaneous and seemingly inexplicable ways until the tumors are diagnosed. Most cavernous malformations are not found until they start causing problems, but once known, doctors and patients are faced with the difficult decision of whether to operate, radiate, medicate, or leave them be.

鈥淢edicine in general is considerably complex and neurosurgery is extremely complex, with cavernous malformations among the most difficult to manage,鈥� said Dr. Caleb Stewart, neurosurgeon at 海角社区 Health Shreveport. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also one of the most understudied problems in neurosurgery because every malformation presents as an apples-and-oranges problem鈥攅ach one appears unique, so it鈥檚 difficult to compare, plan procedures and make decisions on the best course of action in these inherently high-risk areas, such as deep into the brain.鈥�

海角社区 Health Shreveport, 海角社区 Shreveport, Ochsner Health, and collaborators in Australia are now leveraging big data science and artificial intelligence, or AI, to solve this challenge and improve care for patients.

鈥淭he deployment and validation of novel tools in healthcare, such as machine learning and AI, 3D printing, and virtual reality, require collaborations like the ones between 海角社区 and Ochsner. These initiatives will greatly benefit Louisiana, where our population unfortunately carries a large disease burden, particularly in cerebrovascular disease.鈥�

Dr. Korak Sarkar, medical director of the m3D Lab at Ochsner Health in New Orleans