Week 6 (Daniel)

This week, to help in my project, I went down to the PET facility to see how the PET data was being collected in humans and in rats. This proved to be very helpful as I learned that an additional step was needed for the rat data for the model to work properly. I needed to take concentrations measured in the rat's vena cava (the large vein returning blood to the heart) and convert it into an arterial input function for the model and I found a paper on that exact step.

I have not seen much new for surgeries this week and Dr. Schwartz was not in on Wednesday so I took that time to continue reading "When the Air Hits Your Brain," a collection of stories from neurosurgeons that were critical into shaping how they became who they are in the operating room, focusing on a mix of cases with both good and bad outcomes, that Dr. Schwartz had given to me and several other shadowing students. I am enjoying the book so far and have even been able to relate to some of the cases presented based on my own hospital experience.

At this point, there is only one week left in NYC and still a lot to do. I will try to explore a bit more of the city but focus on getting an initial method established to track the blood-brain barrier permeability as it changes when mannitol is introduced into and removed from the rats in the study.

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