At the HORAO Conference on March 14, 2019, the jury and the audience chose the winning project. Ivan Gusachenko from Rennes, France, won the global crowdsourcing competition and thus the $35,000 prize money. His promising solution «Optical Polarimetry for Brain Fibers Visualization» will now be further developed to market maturity so that brain tumors can be operated even more safely in future.
«Mueller polarimetry» uses polarized (i. e. organized) light to study tissue structures. Organised structures in the brain (brain fibres) reflect polarised light differently than unorganized cells (tumors). Gusachenko suggests equipping the surgical microscope with polarizers so that tumor borders can be directly faded in on the microscope image that the surgeon sees during the surgery.
Many thanks to all innovators who submitted their exciting projects! Thanks to your commitment, neurosurgery can be revolutionized decisively.
Sincerely,
Your HORAO Team
