Noninvasive physiologic evaluation of the aneurysm patient

Patients harboring intracranial aneurysms may experience secondary brain injury around the time of aneurysm repair, either from the repair process itself or secondary to altered cerebral vascular physiology following subarachnoid hemorrhage. Management of patients with aneurysms includes strategies to avoid or minimize secondary brain injury. Various technologies have been employed to monitor patients undergoing treatment for cerebral aneurysms to detect and treat causes of secondary ischemic damage. These methods include monitoring for cerebral ischemia and monitoring of electrophysiologic function of the brain. This article discusses noninvasive techniques which have been employed to monitor cerebral function in aneurysm patients.