Procedures for brain tumors, epilepsy, and movement disorders require a precise and conservative approach so as not to damage functioning brain tissue. UAB Hospital neurosurgeons can now check their work as they operate in a new intraoperative MRI suite—the first in Alabama.

James Garber Galbraith Endowed Chair of Neurosurgery James Markert, M.D., MPH, discusses how surgeons respond to real-time MRIs at crucial moments. Because of this technology, UAB surgeons can now target the margins of glioma tumors; confirm proper placement of deep brain stimulators for Parkinson’s disease; and use laser interstitial thermal therapy more precisely to eliminate seizures. Markert discusses the logistics of using an MRI in the operating suite and the vast potential of this suite for other surgical units.

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