New Noninvasive Method of Intracranial Pressure Monitoring

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Researchers from Klinikum Stuttgart and the University of Erlangen, Germany, report preliminary findings that show a noninvasive method of monitoring intracranial pressure (ICP) that could rival the gold standards of invasive intraventricular and intraparenchymal monitoring. To date no noninvasive method of ICP monitoring has proved adequate to replace invasive ones. The new noninvasive monitoring device uses advanced signal analysis algorithms to evaluate properties of acoustic signals that pass through the brain in order to determine ICP values. It is described in the article “Evaluation of a novel noninvasive ICP monitoring device in patients undergoing invasive ICP monitoring: preliminary results,” by Oliver Ganslandt, M.D., and colleagues.

Background. Normally human intracranial pressure (ICP) is 20 mm Hg or lower, but in the presence of brain disease or traumatic head injury, brain tissues may swell or cerebrospinal fluid—the liquid that surrounds and protects the brain—may increase in volume, causing ICP to increase. Increased ICP can cause serious symptoms and sometimes even death. Continuous monitoring of ICP in critical-care patients provides clinicians with the knowledge of whether and when action must be taken to decrease ICP.

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