Analysis of a Non-invasive Intracranial Pressure Monitoring Method in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Neuroscience
• Medical Devices

Background:

• Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is crucial for managing traumatic brain injury (TBI).
• Current invasive ICP (iICP) methods carry risks.
• Development of non-invasive ICP (nICP) monitoring is highly desirable.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of a novel non-invasive intracranial pressure (nICP) monitoring method against the gold standard invasive intracranial pressure (iICP) method.
• To assess the similarity of signal power spectral densities between iICP and nICP in TBI patients.

Main Methods:

• Seven TBI patients at Hospital São João, Portugal, underwent simultaneous iICP and nICP monitoring.
• nICP utilized mechanical extensometers.
• Signal similarity was quantified using Euclidean distance on ISOMAP projections of windowed power spectral densities.

Main Results:

• The nICP method demonstrated statistically significant differences compared to arterial blood pressure (ABP) recordings.
• A higher degree of similarity was observed between iICP and nICP signals than between nICP and radial ABP signals across all patients.
• Analysis included approximately 337 hours of acquired data.

Conclusions:

• The nICP method exhibits strong signal similarity with iICP, supporting its potential as an alternative ICP monitoring technique.
• Findings suggest nICP can reliably track intracranial pressure dynamics in TBI patients.
• Further validation may establish nICP as a safer, non-invasive alternative.