Non-Invasive Ultrasonic Intracranial Pressure Measurement

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability for ages 1 to 44. TBI results in 50,000 deaths, 90,000 survivors suffering permanent neurological disabilities, and $40B in health care costs annually. Insurgents’ use of suicide bombers and IEDs has sharply increased the proportion of TBIs suffered by American troops, making it the “signature wound” in recent conflicts. TBI is difficult to diagnose, treat, and monitor in the field, with no external indication of the internal brain injuries. Rapid detection and treatment of TBI is critical in preventing further damage or death. Computerized axial tomography (CT) is the “gold standard” non-invasive method to determine the degree of cerebral injury, but is not suitable for field. Elevated Intracranial Pressure (ICP), above 20mm HG, is often the most direct, initial result of TBI. However, traditional invasive ICP measurements are also not possible in the field. In conjunction with Virginia Commonwealth University Medical System, Progeny proposes to investigate three non-invasive methods to measure ICP: Ultrasonic image of the optical nerve sheath diameter, Intra-ocular pressure, and a novel ultrasonic sound attenuation technique. Phase I will include prototype data collection system development for deployment in Phase II ICU and ED patient studies.