Reliability of the NeuroTrend sensor system under hyperbaric conditions

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Neuroscience
• Critical Care Medicine

Background:

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can lead to altered brain tissue oxygenation.
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is being investigated for its potential to improve ptiO2 in TBI.
• Accurate measurement of ptiO2 under hyperbaric conditions is crucial for evaluating HBOT efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the reliability of the multi-parameter NeuroTrend sensor in a hyperbaric environment.
• To determine if absolute pressures up to 3 bar affect NeuroTrend sensor measurements.
• To evaluate the potential of HBOT in improving ptiO2 in pathological brain tissue.

Main Methods:

• The NeuroTrend sensor was placed in a decompression chamber with plasma samples equilibrated with different gas mixtures.
• Initial measurements of temperature, pO2, pCO2, and pH were taken.
• Ambient pressure was increased stepwise from 0.1 to 3 bar, with measurements taken at each level.

Main Results:

• No significant differences were observed in mean values for pO2, pCO2, and pH across all 10 NeuroTrend sensors.
• Measurements remained consistent under both normobaric and hyperbaric conditions (up to 3 bar).
• The sensor's performance was not affected by increased ambient pressure.

Conclusions:

• The NeuroTrend sensor demonstrates reliable performance in hyperbaric environments up to 3 bar absolute pressure.
• The study validates the NeuroTrend sensor for research involving hyperbaric conditions and TBI.
• These findings support further investigation into HBOT for TBI using reliable monitoring tools.