Patient-specific cranio-spinal compliance distribution using lumped-parameter model: its relation with ICP over a...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Neuroscience
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Cranio-spinal compliance (CSC) distribution is crucial for understanding intracranial pressure (ICP) modulation in health and disease.
• Invasive methods for CSC measurement offer limited sub-compartmental data and are site-dependent.
• A non-invasive method is needed to assess CSC distribution between cranial and spinal compartments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a non-invasive method for determining cranio-spinal compliance distribution.
• To investigate the relationship between CSC distribution and intracranial pressure (ICP).
• To assess the influence of age and gender on CSC distribution.

Main Methods:

• A lumped-parameter model was developed to represent cranio-spinal hydro- and hemodynamics.
• Phase-contrast MRI derived blood flow and CSF flow data were used as model inputs/outputs.
• The model predicted CSC distribution from the system's DC gain, validated against non-invasive MR-ICP in 104 healthy individuals.

Main Results:

• A significant negative correlation was observed between cranial CSC contribution and MR-ICP.
• The spinal canal was the primary contributor to CSC in individuals up to 40 years old.
• Age correlated significantly with cranial CSC and MR-ICP; gender did not influence CSC distribution.

Conclusions:

• An MRI-based, non-invasive method was established to determine cranio-spinal compliance distribution.
• The model ensures stable and physiologically relevant CSC predictions.
• Model-derived cranial compliance strongly correlated with non-invasive MR-ICP, highlighting CSC's role in ICP modulation.