Use of a neuro-evacuation device for the endoscopic removal of third ventricle colloid cysts

BackgroundColloid cysts are benign tumors usually located at the level of the foramen of Monro and account for approximately 1% of all intracranial tumors. Endoscopic surgical treatment represents the approach of choice for removal of these tumors and is usually preferred over transcortical or transcallosal microsurgical approaches. Our purpose is to demonstrate the feasibility of endoscopic removal of colloid cysts using a novel aspiration and fragmentation system, currently designed for evacuation of cerebral hematomas.MethodsWe performed an evaluation of the results obtained in patients with symptomatic colloid cysts of the third ventricle operated on using an endoscopic neuroevacuation system (Artemis Neuro Evacuation Device, Penumbra, Alameda, California, USA) between April 2020 and April 2022. Instrumentation and surgical technique are described in detail. All patients underwent postoperative MRI to assess the extent of cyst removal.ResultsFive patients were included in our study. The predominant symptom at onset was headache. No intraoperative complications related to the technology in use occurred. The surgical time for the cyst removal was significantly shorter than removal via a standard endoscopic technique (80 vs. 120 min). Removal was complete, both content and capsule of the cyst, in all patients. In all cases there was a complete regression of the previously complained symptoms.ConclusionThe Artemis Neuro Evacuation Device has proved to be effective and safe in removal of colloid cysts of the third ventricle and may be proposed as a possible alternative or as a complement of the standard instruments routinely used in neuroendoscopy

EEG Single-Trial Classification of Visual, Auditive and Vibratory Feedback Potentials in Brain-Computer Interfaces

Feedback stimuli are fundamental components in Brain-Computer Interfaces. It is known that the presentation of feedback stimuli elicits certain brain potentials that can be measured and classified. As stimuli can be given through different sensory modalities, it is important to understand the effects of different types of feedback on brain responses and their impact on classification. This paper presents a protocol used to obtain brain potentials elicited by visual, auditive or vibrotactile feedback stimuli. Experiments were carried out with five different subjects for each modality. Four different single-trial classification strategies were compared, according to the information used to train the classifier, achieving a classification rate of approximately 80% for each modality

Transferring BCI skills to successful application controls

The goal of our research is to enable various end-users to control applications by using a brain-computer interface (BCI). Since applications–like telepresence robots, wheelchairs or text entry systems–are quite demanding a good level of BCI control is needed. However, little is known on how much training is needed to achieve such a level. A second open issue is, if this can be done at rehabilitation clinics or user-centers, without BCI experts present? In this work we wanted to train BCI-naïve end-users within 10 days to successfully control such applications and present results of 23 severely motor-disabled participants

Sigilli di eternit\ue0. Il cimitero ebraico di Finale Emilia

Il volume contiene nuovi dati sulla comunit\ue0 e il cimitero ebraico di Finale Emilia, acquisiti grazie alle preziose ricerche storico-arichivistiche di Maria Pia Balboni e all'analisi filologica dei testi ebraici condotta da Mauro Perani, Giacomo Corazzol e Alessio Creatura. Esso viene al tempo stesso a colmare una lacuna presente nei pur pregievoli volumi gi\ue0 apparsi sullo stesso argomento, poich\ue9 per la prima volta si pubblicano i testi degli epitaffi in ebraico, o ebraico e italiano. Due pregievoli premesse di Rita Levi Montalcini e di Arrigo Levi, seguite da un haskamah del Rabbino Capo di Roma Riccardo Di Segni, aprono il volume, arricchito da un sedicesimo di fotografie a colori. A fronte delle trascrizioni e delle traduzioni annotate dei testi il lettore trover\ue0 la fotografia in bianco e nero della lapide corrispondente. Lo studio delle epigrafi ha potuto avvalersi di una parziale trascrizione di alcuni epitaffi, oggi non pi\uf9 completamente leggibili, eseguita nel Seicento da Bernardino Ramazzini su richiesta dell'ebraista tedesco Johan Christian Wagenseil. Un accurato esame delle corrispondenze onomastiche ebraico-italiane in uso nella nostra Penisola ha inoltre permesso di identificare nel defunto Natan ben Natan il Donato Donati noto da altre fonti per essere stato il benefattore che rese possibile la fondazione del cimitero

Transferring brain-computer interfaces beyond the laboratory: Successful application control for motor-disabled users

OBJECTIVES: Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are no longer only used by healthy participants under controlled conditions in laboratory environments, but also by patients and end-users, controlling applications in their homes or clinics, without the BCI experts around. But are the technology and the field mature enough for this? Especially the successful operation of applications –like text entry systems or assistive mobility devices such as tele-presence robots– requires a good level of BCI control. How much training is needed to achieve such a level? Is it possible to train naïve end-users in 10 days to successfully control such applications? METHODS AND MATERIALS: In this work, we report our experiences of training 24 motor-disabled participants at rehabilitation clinics or at the end-users’ homes, without BCI experts present. We also share the lessons that we have learned through transferring BCI technologies from the lab to the user's home or clinics. RESULTS: The most important outcome is that fifty percent of the participants achieved good BCI performance and could successfully control the applications (tele-presence robot and text-entry system). In the case of the tele-presence robot the participants achieved an average performance ratio of 0.87 (max. 0.97) and for the text entry application a mean of 0.93 (max. 1.0). The lessons learned and the gathered user feedback range from pure BCI problems (technical and handling), to common communication issues among the different people involved, and issues encountered while controlling the applications. CONCLUSION: The points raised in this paper are very widely applicable and we anticipate that they might be faced similarly by other groups, if they move on to bringing the BCI technology to the end-user, to home environments and towards application prototype control