Neuroimaging and Surgical Simulation for Neuroscience Research.

Brain3DViz is a research lab at Western University, London, ON, Canada. With a diverse mix of research assistants, Master's, and PhD students, our main research interests concern neurosurgery, neuroimaging, 3D visualizations, and augmented reality.

Projects and Research supported by

    • Transistor
    • Tuple
    • StaticKit
    • Mirage
    • Laravel
    • Statamic
    • Mirage

Showcasing the Latest Advances in Neuroscience Research from Our Lab.

Our website provides a platform for our lab to showcase the latest research in the field of neuroscience. We aim to share our findings with the world and promote collaboration and innovation in the field. Explore our website to learn more about our cutting-edge research and stay up-to-date with the latest advances in neuroscience.

Our surgical simulation software allows for safe and realistic practice of surgical procedures, enabling neurosurgeons to hone their skills and improve patient outcomes.

Revolutionize Neuroscience research.

With our cutting-edge technology, we aim to revolutionize the way neuroscience research is conducted, providing researchers with new and exciting tools to explore the brain and the mind.

Neuroimaging

Visualize brain function and structure with cutting-edge tools.

Our neuro visualization tools provide high-quality rendering of neuroimaging data, enabling researchers to study the brain in new and exciting ways. Gain insights into brain function and potential treatments.

Virtual Reality

Experience immersive simulations and virtual environments for research.

Our VR platform allows researchers to create and explore immersive simulations and environments, enabling them to study brain function and behavior in new and innovative ways.

Augmented Reality

Enhance research with real-time visualization and data overlay.

Our AR technology enables real-time visualization and data analysis. Explore brain function and behavior in new and innovative ways.

Check out a list of our projects and publications!

Projects and Publications

Researchers

  • Dr. Sandrine De Ribaupierre

    Principal Investigator

    Dr. de Ribaupierre is a pediatric neurosurgeon at London Health Sciences Centre, ON, Canada. Her main research interests include functional brain imaging, especially during development (fetal, neonatal and pediatric). This would include healthy subjects or patients with epilepsy or hydrocephalus. Another focus or interest is surgical simulation and its evaluation.

  • Dr. Roy Eagleson

    Principal Investigator

    Dr. Eagleson is a professor specializing in computer and electrical engineering at Western University, ON, Canada. His main research interests include 3D Biomedical Visualization and Surgical Simulation, Human-Computer Interface Design for Surgical Skills Training, haptic Interfaces, and Interactive Immersive graphical Interfaces (Volumetric Visualization with GPU programming).

Research Coordinators

  • Matea Zuljevic

    Research Associate

    Matea is a Research Associate at London Health Sciences Centre, ON, Canada. She completed a Master’s of Science degree in the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. She received a Bachelor's degree in Health Sciences with a minor in Psychology from the University of Ottawa. Before coming to LHSC, she worked as a Research Assistant at the University Health Network in the Neurology Department. Matea has expertise in population health and clinical epidemiology research. Her major research interests include epidemiology and cognitive function.

  • Derya Adil

    Neuroscience

    My research focuses on understanding how children with infantile hydrocephalus learn and develop, with a particular interest in brain plasticity and neurodevelopment. I use resting-state fMRI to investigate the visuomotor network in children with hydrocephalus compared to typically developing controls, and I incorporate behavioural assessments to evaluate cognitive functioning. I am also interested in how functional connectivity reorganizes in response to cognitive interventions, particularly within the visual and frontoparietal networks. In parallel, I use diffusion tensor imaging to examine white matter development and structural reorganization. I am especially interested in how patterns of white matter connectivity relate to functional outcomes in pediatric populations.

Medical Students

  • Mashal Ahmed

    Medical Student, MD

    Mashal is a second-year medical student at Western. She earned her BSc from the University of Waterloo and her MSc from the University of Toronto. She is currently working on a project which explores the use of virtual reality in paediatric patients prior to and following neurosurgical procedures. Beyond academics, Mashal loves trying out new baking recipes and painting.

  • Renee-Marie Ragguett

    Medical Student, MD

PhD Students

  • Denis Kikinov

    Software Engineering, PhD

    My name is Denis Kikinov and I completed my undergraduate degree in software engineering at Western University. My interest in the field of augmented reality and virtual reality was sparked when I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Eagleson in my culminating fourth year project, which eventually became the basis for my master’s thesis. I am currently pursuing a Master of Engineering Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering focused on Software Engineering.

  • Oleksiy Zaika

    Anatomy & Cell Biology, PhD

    My research is focused on skill development in cerebral angiography coiling procedures using haptic simulation. During an endovascular intervention with a cerebral aneurysm, an interventionalist manipulates a set of wires and catheters in order to fill and stabilize the aneurysmal space. This procedure uses limited fluoroscopy monitoring to navigate a 3D endovascular network – a combination of obstacles that make the procedure difficult. Currently, fellowships specializing in teaching these procedures are limited to offering most technical training in the operating room. With the appropriate implementation of simulation, it would be advantageous to target and develop core procedural skills and competencies.

  • Xiang Li

    Software Engineering, PhD

Master's Students

  • Juan Santiago Bottan

    Neurosurgery, MSc

    I received my MD at the University of Buenos Aires in 2009. I completed my residency in Neurosurgery at the Central Military Hospital in Buenos Aires and pursued a research fellowship in cerebrovascular and skull base surgery at the Arkansas Neuroscience Institute in Little Rock, AR in 2014. Following this, I was appointed as staff neurosurgeon in the Pedro de Elizalde Children’s Hospital in Buenos Aires. In 2019, I completed a clinical fellowship in epilepsy surgery at Western University in London, ON. For my master's project, I am investigating the role of resting-state functional MRI and functional NIRS in pediatric epilepsy surgery with special focus in preoperative language mapping and postoperative cognitive outcomes.

  • Susana Correa

    Neuroscience, MSc

  • Parjanya Parikh

    Neuroscience, MSc

    Parjanya Parikh is currently researching the long-term effects of shunt-treated hydrocephalus in school-age children, with a particular emphasis on working memory development. Using neuroimaging methods, Parjanya is investigating how early neurosurgical interventions shape cognitive outcomes and brain connectivity patterns, with the goal of informing both clinical care and educational support strategies.

  • Virat Tripathi

    Biomedical Engineering, MESc

  • Neel Patel

    Biomedical Engineering, MESc

  • Rutva Master

    Neuroscience, MSc

    My main research interest is studying the rapidly developing brain in utero using fetal fMRI. Specifically, my project uses fetal fMRI scans to investigate functional connectivity of the primary auditory cortex in terms of language acquisition and behavior in children.

  • Connor Burgess

    Software Engineering, MESc

    I completed my undergraduate degree at Western University in Computer Engineering. My research interest is in leveraging Virtual and Augmented Reality hardware devices to allow for the development and testing of software systems in the healthcare domain. This includes researching and building programs that improve both pre- and post-operative workflows via collaborative planning and analyzing patient data in a virtual environment. I'm also deeply interested in working towards building and validating programs that can be used for skill acquisition before clinicians move on to their next stage of surgical pipeline.

  • Chandan Chandel

    Software Engineering, MESc

    Chandan is a masters student focusing on Artificial Intelligence and AR/VR in the Brain3DViz lab at Western University. He completed his bachelors in electrical engineering at the same institution. During his masters he has completed multiple software engineering internship, enabling him to apply his academic learning in private sector settings.

  • Liam Bilbie

    Software Engineering, MESc

  • Matthew Peck

    Software Engineering, MESc

    Matthew is a graduate of Western's Computer Engineering program who works with the lab in VR. His research focus is on the viability of sonification techniques in VR settings for training, specifically on medical education and surgical training. He is interested in VR, game development, signal processing, sound synthesis, and psychoacoustics.

  • Anthony Barros

    Software Engineering, MESc

    Personal Website

    Anthony is a graduate of the software engineering program and a Masters student. His research is concerned with implementing computer vision algorithms on modern FPGAs.

Bachelor's Students

  • Jackie Han

    Medical Sciences, BSc

    Jackie is currently helping on the hospital VR project.

  • Mehul Satish Prabha

    Medical Sciences, BSc

    Mahul is currently helping with a project on how post-surgical executive functioning outcomes can be predicted by pre-surgical resting-state fMRI in surgical cases of epilepsy.

  • Verena Rafael

    Medical Sciences, BSc

    Verena is currently helping with a project related to examining the functional effects of hydrocephalus based on changes in brain volume.

  • Yihan (Jane) Wang

    Psychology, BSc

    Jane's research is focusing on exploring the cognitive attention deficits in pediatric hydrocephalus children.

  • Michael Dinatolo

    Biology, BSc

    Michael is helping out with the hospital VR project.

  • Sherwin Sherkat-Mahichian

    Genetics, BSc

  • Lili Meng

    Medical Sciences, BSc

    My research focus is exploring how pediatric hydrocephalus affects the structure and function of the hippocampus through methods that employ volume segmentation and behavioural testing.

  • Daniel Roozbeh

    Medical Sciences, BSc

    Daniel's research is targeted toward how post-surgical executive functioning outcomes can be predicted by pre-surgical resting state fMRI in surgical cases of epilepsy and discovering volumes of cerebral spinal fluid present in patients with hydrocephalus and their implications.

  • Jonah Boutin

    Medical Sciences, BSc

    Currently collaborating on a project that is investigating the use of haptic technologies combined with virtual environments to improve surgical education.

  • Henna Patel

    Medical Sciences, BSc

    Henna is presently engaged in research focused on combining resting state fMRI and fNIRS to map language preoperatively in children with drug-resistant Epilepsy and is contributing to understanding the safety and effectiveness of vagal nerve stimulator implantation in children under the age of 5.

  • Fatima Sajid

    Medical Sciences, BMSc

    Fatima is assisting with research on brain variability and neural networking in children with pediatric epilepsy using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).

Contact

Want to participate in our research? Thank you for your interest in our lab! If you would like to participate in our research, please send us an email and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Telephone
1151 Richmond St
London, ON N6A 3K7