# 7T Neurosurgical Mapping Protocol for Endoscopic Resection of Skull Base Tumors

> **NIH NIH R01** · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2020 · $169,495

## Abstract

Project Summary
Although neurological symptoms are being observed in a high number of COVID-19 patients, a prospective study
aimed at scanning recovered COVID-19 patients with advanced multi-modal neuroimaging methods has yet to
be performed. There is much to be learned about the persisting effects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on the central
nervous system, and high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the ideal non-invasive tool to reveal
these effects as well as mechanisms of infection. In this work, we will leverage the high resolution and enhanced
contrasts offered by multi-modal 7 Tesla (7T) imaging to study the structural, vascular, functional, and
connectomic changes in the brain related to the pathophysiology of COVID-19. In particular, we will reveal,
in unprecedented detail, brain abnormalities resulting from the SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as shine a brighter
light on possible links to loss of respiratory drive due to viral infection through the brain stem. Imaging findings
will be correlated to clinical neurological symptoms and neuropsychological measures. Three patient subgroups
will be recruited for our prospective study: non-cancer patients with neurological symptoms who did not require
a ventilator, cancer patients with neurological symptoms who did not require a ventilator, and patients who had
severe respiratory distress and required ventilation. A retrospective study will also be performed on clinical brain
MRI scans for a group of COVID-19 patients with neurological symptoms, seen at Mount Sinai Health System,
and outcomes of this analysis will aid in patient selection for the 7T study and additional analysis of persisting
versus transient neurological effects. Our study falls within the scope of our R01 application on “7T
Neurosurgical Mapping Protocol for Endoscopic Resection of Skull Base Tumors” as we are applying similar
multimodal 7T imaging techniques to reveal detailed anatomy in the brain and to characterize effects of disease
in both studies. We will simply extend the cohort to include COVID-19 recovered patients and further optimize
imaging in the brain stem which will be applicable to both studies. Our study aligns with the goals of the Notice
of Special Interest announced by the NCI for administrative supplements on COVID-19 as it addresses
potential for differential responses among diverse cancer patient populations to SARS-CoV-2 infection or
COVID-19 disease in central nervous system.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10175768
- **Project number:** 3R01CA202911-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
- **Principal Investigator:** Priti Balchandani
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $169,495
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2021-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10175768

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10175768, 7T Neurosurgical Mapping Protocol for Endoscopic Resection of Skull Base Tumors (3R01CA202911-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10175768. Licensed CC0.

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