This is an official  press release from NYU School of Medicine about Sr. Patricia Broderick's cutting-edge work with and for epilepsy patients during surgery. 

BRODERICK PROBE^® BIOTECHNOLOGY PROVIDES ADVANCE IN NEUROSCIENCE

New Method for Studying Brain Diseases and Disorders Unveiled

New York, NY (July 12, 2010) -- NYU Langone Medical Center today announced the testing of a new bioimaging sensor technology to study brain diseases and disorders in patients undergoing surgery. The BRODERICK PROBE^® is made up of sleek, miniature sensors which can detect chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters. The patent rights for this technology are jointly owned by NYU and the City University of New York (CUNY).

“The BRODERICK PROBE^®  provides a clear picture of neuronal release activities while the cells are actually working in the patient,” says Patricia A. Broderick, PhD, an adjunct professor in the Department of Neurology at NYU Langone Medical Center and a professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education of the City College of New York, a part of CUNY.  “All recordings by the sensors are made in real time so minute changes in the release of neurotransmitters can be documented.”  

This novel technology will influence clinical research, services and therapies for patients undergoing surgery not only for epilepsy, but for tumors and spinal cord stimulation.  The BRODERICK PROBE^® will soon be tested in patients with Parkinson’s, other movement disorders and brain trauma.  The sensors will also be used to study aspects of metabolic, neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Research led by Dr. Broderick and recently presented at the American Epilepsy Society in Boston, Massachusetts, indicates that the sensor can detect chemical changes in the brains of patients with epilepsy.  Co-authors of these studies include Werner K. Doyle, MD, Steven V. Pacia, MD, Ruben I. Kuzniecky, MD, Orrin Devinsky, MD and Edwin H. Kolodny, MD of NYU Langone Medical Center.

“The BRODERICK PROBE^® represents a significant shift in the way that physicians and scientists study the chemistry of the brain,” says Steven Pacia, MD, associate professor in the Department of Neurology at NYU Langone Medical Center.  “The neurological community has been in search of an effective way to study the neurochemical nature of the brain in humans, and the ability to study neurotransmitter release in the conscious human is a dramatic breakthrough.”

About NYU Langone Medical Center:

NYU Langone Medical Center is one of the nation's premier centers of excellence in healthcare, biomedical research, and medical education. For over 168 years, NYU physicians and researchers have made countless contributions to the practice and science of health care. Today the Medical Center consists of NYU School of Medicine, including the Smilow Research Center, the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, and the Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences; and the  NYU Hospitals Center, including Tisch Hospital, a 705-bed acute-care general hospital, Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the first and largest facility of its kind, and NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, a leader in musculoskeletal diagnoses and treatments.