[Pulsation echoencephalography--a bloodless method of measuring intracranial pressure]

By means of a special procedure an echo encephalograph can be modified in such a manner that changes in the amplitude of an echo peak can be detected and prepared for registration. In this iaay it is possible to single out the medium echo pulsations of the one-dimensional echo encephalography which have been known for a long time and prepare them for recording. In a number of zna persons without an indication of an increase in the intracranial pressure, medium echo pulkmon and ECG were simultaneously recorded. The quotient of the time T1 and R--T of the ECG was calculated 120 times and the respective mean value determined. The same measurements and calculations were then carried out for a total of 100 patients in whom clinical signs suggested an increase in the intracranial pressure (42 patients with extending processes in the supratentorial space, 16 patients with extending processes in the region of the posterior cranial fossa, 10 patients with hypophyseal adenomas, 10 patients with conditions after craniocerebral traumas, 5 patients with occlusions of the aqueductus, 7 patients with disturbances of the cerebrospinal fluid absorption and circulation and 10 patients with aneurysms). In all cases of clinically relevant signs of an increase in the intracranial presure the quotient of T1 and R--T was significantly higher than the calculated mean value. Variations of the pressure were rapidly detected. The results obtained were compared with those of other authors. Advantages and disadvantages of this method were discussed. The task was derived to compare the quotients found with the actual pressure values obtained by invasive methods in order to find out whether there are true correlations which might set the way for a non-bloody quantitative method.