New app helps protect patients’ brains during surgery

Editor's Note

A new app developed by students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s (UWM’s) App Brewery and a neuropsychologist at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) monitors critical brain functions during neurosurgical procedures in which patients are awake.

The app, called “NeruoMapper,” assists neurosurgeons who are removing tumors by helping them test whether they are encroaching on tissue that would impair critical functions if removed. 

The app delivers cognitive and sensory stimuli to patients and evaluates their responses. Previously, surgeons relied on more basic methods, such as talking to patients or showing them flashcards. 

In the past few months, NeuroMapper has been tested in more than 30 MCW surgical cases, and is being tested in major academic medical centers across the country.

The work of some UWM students is literally helping make people's lives better. The students in UWM's App Brewery worked with doctors at the Medical College of Wisconsin to develop an app that helps guide doctors during the delicate process of brain surgery. Incredibly, patients are awake during the surgery.

Read More >>