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Wearable Intracranial Pressure Monitoring Sensor for Infants
Baoyue Zhang1, Ziyi Huang1, Huixue Song1
1School of Microelectronics, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China.
Insights
This study introduces a novel wearable, non-invasive intracranial pressure (ICP) sensor. The band-aid like device offers accurate, continuous ICP monitoring for improved brain injury and hydrocephalus management.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Materials Science
- Medical Devices
Background:
- Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is critical for managing brain conditions like injury and hydrocephalus.
- Current invasive ICP monitoring methods pose risks including infection and bleeding, and are inconvenient, especially for infants.
- Existing non-invasive methods lack the required accuracy, ease of use, and continuous monitoring capabilities for routine clinical application.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a wearable, non-invasive intracranial pressure (ICP) sensor.
- To create a low-cost, continuous ICP monitoring solution suitable for routine clinical use.
- To overcome the limitations of current invasive and non-invasive ICP monitoring techniques.
Main Methods:
- A novel freeze casting technique was employed to create the ICP sensor.
- Liquid metal microstructures were encapsulated within thin and flexible polymers.
- Three distinct ICP sensor designs were fabricated and tested under varying pressure and temperature conditions.
Main Results:
- The developed ICP sensor is wearable, non-invasive, and has a demonstrated thickness of 500 µm, with potential for further reduction.
- The sensor exhibited high stability across different pressure and temperature environments, with a maximum coefficient of variation (CV) of 0.0206.
- Sensor output demonstrated an exceptionally high linear correlation (R² > 0.9990) with applied pressures.
Conclusions:
- The novel wearable ICP sensor offers a promising non-invasive alternative to current monitoring methods.
- The developed fabrication technique allows for thin, flexible, and potentially low-cost ICP sensors.
- This technology has the potential to significantly improve the management of patients requiring ICP monitoring.
Abstract:
Monitoring of intracranial pressure (ICP) is important for patients at risk of raised ICP, which may indicate developing diseases in brains that can lead to brain damage or even death. Monitoring ICP can be invaluable in the management of patients suffering from brain injury or hydrocephalus. To date, invasive measurements are still the standard method for monitoring ICP; however, these methods can not only cause bleeding or infection but are also very inconvenient to use, particularly for infants. Currently, none of the non-invasive methods can provide sufficient accuracy and ease of use while allowing continuous monitoring in routine clinical use at low cost. Here, we have developed a wearable, non-invasive ICP sensor that can be used like a band-aid. For the fabrication of the ICP sensor, a novel freeze casting method was developed to encapsulate the liquid metal microstructures within thin and flexible polymers. The final thickness of the ICP sensor demonstrated is 500 µm and can be further reduced. Three different designs of ICP sensors were tested under various pressure actuation conditions as well as different temperature environments, where the measured pressure changes were stable with the largest stability coefficient of variation being only CV = 0.0206. In addition, the sensor output values showed an extremely high linear correlation (R2 > 0.9990) with the applied pressures.
