A click-based electrocorticographic brain-computer interface enables long-term high-performance switch scan spelling.

Background: Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) can restore communication for movement- and/or speech-impaired individuals by enabling neural control of computer typing applications. Single command click detectors provide a basic yet highly functional capability.

Methods: We sought to test the performance and long-term stability of click decoding using a chronically implanted high density electrocorticographic (ECoG) BCI with coverage of the sensorimotor cortex in a human clinical trial participant (ClinicalTrials.

Characteristics, trends, and management of Penile cancer in the United States: A population-based study.

Background: Penile cancer (PeCa) is a rare disease. HPV infection, smoking, phimosis, and lichen sclerosus represent well-known associated risk factors.

Objectives: Primary aim of our study is to evaluate the incidence and risk factors of PeCa and to outline the adopted diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Incidence and Management of Radiation Cystitis After Pelvic Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer: Analysis From a National Database.

Objective: To determine the incidence of radiation cystitis on prostate cancer (PCa) patients undergoing pelvic radiotherapy (RT), evaluating the most used management strategies, and identifying potential risk factors associated with the development of this condition.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using the PearlDiver Mariner database, containing patient records compiled between 2011 and 2022. International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes were employed to identify population and outcomes.

Implementation of single-port robotic urologic surgery: experience at a large academic center.

The Single-Port (SP) robotic system is increasingly being implemented in the United States, allowing for several minimally invasive urologic procedures to be performed. The present study aims to describe our single-center experience since the adoption of the SP platform. We retrospectively collected and analyzed consecutive SP cases performed at a major teaching hospital in the Midwest (Rush University Medical Center) from December 2020 to December 2023.

Single-port vs multi-port robot-assisted partial nephrectomy: A single center propensity score-matched analysis.

Introduction And Objectives: The aim of the study is to compare key outcomes of Single-Port (SP) and Multi-Port (MP) robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN).

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on our prospectively collected database of patients who underwent SP-RAPN or MP-RAPN at our institution from January 2021 to August 2023. To adjust for potential baseline pre-operative confounders, a 1:1 propensity-score matching analysis (PSMa) was performed.

Stable Decoding from a Speech BCI Enables Control for an Individual with ALS without Recalibration for 3 Months.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) can be used to control assistive devices by patients with neurological disorders like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that limit speech and movement. For assistive control, it is desirable for BCI systems to be accurate and reliable, preferably with minimal setup time. In this study, a participant with severe dysarthria due to ALS operates computer applications with six intuitive speech commands via a chronic electrocorticographic (ECoG) implant over the ventral sensorimotor cortex.

A click-based electrocorticographic brain-computer interface enables long-term high-performance switch-scan spelling.

Background: Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) can restore communication in movement- and/or speech-impaired individuals by enabling neural control of computer typing applications. Single command "click" decoders provide a basic yet highly functional capability.

Methods: We sought to test the performance and long-term stability of click-decoding using a chronically implanted high density electrocorticographic (ECoG) BCI with coverage of the sensorimotor cortex in a human clinical trial participant (ClinicalTrials.

Minimally Invasive Radical Nephroureterectomy: 5-Year Update of Techniques and Outcomes.

The gold standard treatment for non-metastatic upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC) is represented by radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). The choice of surgical technique in performing UTUC surgery continues to depend on several factors, including the location and extent of the tumor, the patient's overall health, and very importantly, the surgeon's skill, experience, and preference. Although open and laparoscopic approaches are well-established treatments, evidence regarding robot-assisted radical nephroureterectomy (RANU) is growing.

Cortico-cortical evoked potentials in response to varying stimulation intensity improves seizure localization.

Objective: As single pulse electrical stimulation (SPES) is increasingly utilized to help localize the seizure onset zone (SOZ), it is important to understand how stimulation intensity can affect the ability to use cortico-cortical evoked potentials (CCEPs) to delineate epileptogenic regions.

Methods: We studied 15 drug-resistant epilepsy patients undergoing intracranial EEG monitoring and SPES with titrations of stimulation intensity. The N1 amplitude and distribution of CCEPs elicited in the SOZ and non-seizure onset zone (nSOZ) were quantified at each intensity.

Stimulating native seizures with neural resonance: a new approach to localize the seizure onset zone.

Successful outcomes in epilepsy surgery rely on the accurate localization of the seizure onset zone. Localizing the seizure onset zone is often a costly and time-consuming process wherein a patient undergoes intracranial EEG monitoring, and a team of clinicians wait for seizures to occur. Clinicians then analyse the intracranial EEG before each seizure onset to identify the seizure onset zone and localization accuracy increases when more seizures are captured.

Piriform Cortex Ablation Volume Is Associated With Seizure Outcome in Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.

Background: Growing evidence suggests that piriform cortex resection during anterior temporal lobectomy is important for achieving good seizure outcome in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE). However, the relationship between seizure outcome and piriform cortex ablation during MR-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLITT) remains unclear.

Objective: To determine whether ablation of piriform cortex was associated with seizure outcome in patients with mTLE undergoing MRgLITT.

Association of intraoperative end-tidal carbon dioxide level with ablation volume during magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.

Objective: Maximal safe ablation of target structures during magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLiTT) is critical to achieving good seizure outcome in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE). The authors sought to determine whether intraoperative physiological variables are associated with ablation volume during MRgLiTT.

Methods: Patients with mTLE who underwent MRgLiTT at our institution from 2014 to 2019 were retrospectively analyzed.

Effects of stimulation intensity on intracranial cortico-cortical evoked potentials: A titration study.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the optimal stimulation parameters for eliciting cortico-cortical evoked potentials (CCEPs) for mapping functional and epileptogenic networks.

Methods: We studied 13 patients with refractory epilepsy undergoing intracranial EEG monitoring. We systematically titrated the intensity of single-pulse electrical stimulation at multiple sites to assess the effect of increasing current on salient features of CCEPs such as N1 potential magnitude, signal to noise ratio, waveform similarity, and spatial distribution of responses.

Graph theoretical analysis of evoked potentials shows network influence of epileptogenic mesial temporal region.

It is now widely accepted that seizures arise from the coordinated activity of epileptic networks, and as a result, traditional methods of analyzing seizures have been augmented by techniques like single-pulse electrical stimulation (SPES) that estimate effective connectivity in brain networks. We used SPES and graph analytics in 18 patients undergoing intracranial EEG monitoring to investigate effective connectivity between recording sites within and outside mesial temporal structures. We compared evoked potential amplitude, network density, and centrality measures inside and outside the mesial temporal region (MTR) across three patient groups: focal epileptogenic MTR, multifocal epileptogenic MTR, and non-epileptogenic MTR.

Spatial-Temporal Functional Mapping Combined With Cortico-Cortical Evoked Potentials in Predicting Cortical Stimulation Results.

Functional human brain mapping is commonly performed during invasive monitoring with intracranial electroencephalographic (iEEG) electrodes prior to resective surgery for drug- resistant epilepsy. The current gold standard, electrocortical stimulation mapping (ESM), is time -consuming, sometimes elicits pain, and often induces after discharges or seizures. Moreover, there is a risk of overestimating eloquent areas due to propagation of the effects of stimulation to a broader network of language cortex.

Novel intraoperative online functional mapping of somatosensory finger representations for targeted stimulating electrode placement: technical note.

Defining eloquent cortex intraoperatively, traditionally performed by neurosurgeons to preserve patient function, can now help target electrode implantation for restoring function. Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) have the potential to restore upper-limb motor control to paralyzed patients but require accurate placement of recording and stimulating electrodes to enable functional control of a prosthetic limb. Beyond motor decoding from recording arrays, precise placement of stimulating electrodes in cortical areas associated with finger and fingertip sensations allows for the delivery of sensory feedback that could improve dexterous control of prosthetic hands.

A Case Series of Delayed Proximal Ureteral Strictures After Nephron-Sparing Treatment of Renal Masses.

Delayed proximal ureteral stricture (DPUS) after nephron-sparing treatment (partial nephrectomy [PN] and image-guided percutaneous ablation) of renal masses is a rare complication that occurs because of an unrecognized injury to the proximal ureter and/or its associated vascular supply. We present a multi-institutional series of patients who developed DPUS after nephron-sparing treatment and review relevant tumor characteristics, timing of DPUS presentation, presenting symptoms, and outcome of stricture management. Between 2000 and 2019, nine patients (five PN and four ablation) were found to have DPUS diagnosed at an average of 9 (6-119) months after PN and 5.

Transfer Function Models for the Localization of Seizure Onset Zone From Cortico-Cortical Evoked Potentials.

Surgical resection of the seizure onset zone (SOZ) could potentially lead to seizure-freedom in medically refractory epilepsy patients. However, localizing the SOZ can be a time consuming and tedious process involving visual inspection of intracranial electroencephalographic (iEEG) recordings captured during passive patient monitoring. Cortical stimulation is currently performed on patients undergoing invasive EEG monitoring for the main purpose of mapping functional brain networks such as language and motor networks.

State-space models of evoked potentials to localize the seizure onset zone.

Surgical removal of the seizure onset zone (SOZ) in epilepsy patients is a potentially curative treatment, but the process heavily relies on accurate localization of the SOZ via visual inspection. SPES (Single-pulse electrical stimulation) is a method recently used to explore inter-areal connectivity in vivo to probe functional brain networks such as language and motor networks, and to a much lesser degree, seizure networks. We hypothesized that a dynamical quantification of the connectivity networks derived from the evoked responses induced by SPES could also be used to localize the SOZ.

Localizing the seizure onset zone from single pulse electrical stimulation responses using transfer function models.

Surgical resection of the seizure onset zone (SOZ) could potentially lead to seizure-freedom in medically refractory epilepsy patients. However, localizing the SOZ can be a time consuming and tedious process involving visual inspection of intracranial electroencephalographic (iEEG) recordings captured during passive patient monitoring. Single pulse electrical stimulation (SPES) is currently performed on patients undergoing invasive EEG monitoring for the main purposes of mapping functional brain networks such as language and motor networks.

Urology Residents' Experience With Simulation: Initial Evaluation of MRI/US Fusion Biopsy Workshop.

Objective: To evaluate our initial experience with a multi-institutional workshop model of MRI/US fusion biopsy simulation for resident education.

Methods: Residents from 6 Chicago area urology programs participated in a MRI/US fusion biopsy workshop, which incorporated a 30 minute didactic session followed by hands-on simulation. The workshop was facilitated by fellowship-trained university faculty members and company representatives of MRI/US fusion technologies who provided teaching assistance and verbal feedback.