Cedars-Sinai 1st hospital in California to use Synaptive brain mapping technology

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is the first hospital in California to have the latest in brain mapping technology called Synaptive.

"We'll take and MRI scan from onsite here at Cedars-Sinai and we'll use our algorithm within our software to process that data and show the white matter tracks," Andrew Toriello with Synaptive Medical explained.

White matter neural tracks are bundles of nerve cells that connect areas essential to brain function. Neurosurgeon Dr. Keith Black said all brains are similar, but they're like faces, as each one has their own unique features and pathways.

He said it's crucial to know where the pathways are during an operation.

"For tumors and abnormalities that require us to go deep into the brain, you not only have to worry about the surface location, but you have to worry about the deep tracts that are connecting all of these various eloquent areas of the brain and making sure that we do not disrupt those tracks," Black said.

Every brain has about 50 plus major neural tracks, which are responsible for things like learning, movement and vision. The technology allows neurosurgeons to see the critical structures in real time.

"It has an automated algorithm to do it very fast," Black explained.

The real-time road maps are displayed in different colors and reveal the various way neurons and fluid flow in the brain.

"This is allowing them to find a corridor in order to pick their trajectory of where they want to go ahead and operate without breaking those major bundle fibers," Toriello said.

The hope is that the technology will reduce surgical complications and allow doctors to take on cases often described as inoperable.