Cerebral Blood Flow Monitoring with a Portable Radio Frequency Sensing System

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Devices
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is vital for brain health and diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases.
• Irregularities in CBF can lead to neuronal loss, cognitive impairment, and stroke.
• Continuous CBF monitoring is crucial for early detection of neurovascular anomalies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an innovative Radio Frequency (RF) based sensing system for non-invasive, live monitoring of cerebral blood flow.
• To create a portable and low-cost solution for detecting blood flow variations.

Main Methods:

• A miniaturized U-shaped antenna sensor integrated with glasses was designed for live CBF monitoring.
• The sensor was validated using microwave computational software and experimental testing in a fabricated brain model.
• Radio Frequency (RF) signal strength was used to detect blood flow variations.

Main Results:

• The system successfully detected artificial blood flow variations ranging from 10-90 mL/min.
• Analysis of variance confirmed significant detection of CBF variability (p=0.038).
• Safety assessments, including Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and thermal analysis, confirmed the system's safety for use.

Conclusions:

• The developed portable RF sensing system offers an effective, low-cost, and non-invasive method for monitoring cerebral blood flow.
• This technology shows promise for proactive assessment and early diagnosis of conditions related to impaired cerebral circulation.