EMBOLI MONITOR TO REDUCE NEUROLOGIC DEFICITS FROM SURGERY

DESPITE CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT IN THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF CARDIOPULMONARY BYPASS PROCEDURES, A MAJORITY OF CARDIAC SURGICAL PATIENTS DEMONSTRATE POSTOPERATIVE COGNITIVE DEFICITS AND 3 PERCENT ACTUALLY SUFFER FRANK STROKES. ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT YET PROVEN, THE MAJORITY OF RESEARCHERS BELIEVE THAT THESE DEFICITS ARE CAUSED BY EMBOLI. IN ORDER TO DIRECTLY CORRELATE THE OCCURRENCE OF NEUROLOGIC AND NEUROPSYCHOLOGIC DEFICITS WITH INTRAOPERATIVE CEREBRAL EMBOLIC EVENTS, IT IS ESSENTIAL TO BE ABLE TO MEASURE THE OCCURRENCE OF EMBOLI TRAVELING TOWARD THE BRAIN. IT IS PLANNED TO DEVELOP A PRACTICAL, COST-EFFECTIVE INSTRUMENT THAT WILL BE ABLE TO INTRAOPERATIVELY MONITOR EMBOLI. TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, A SPECIALIZED ULTRASONIC DETECTOR WILL BE DESIGNED THAT WILL HAVE A VERY LARGE EFFECTIVE FIELD OF VIEW. BY THIS APPROACH, THE MEASURING PROBE CAN BE POSITIONED AGAINST THE PATIENT AND CONTINUOUSLYMONITOR THE EMBOLI COUNT WITHOUT THE CONSTANT ATTENTION OF ASKILLED OPERATOR. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS NEW EMBOLI MONITORING CAPABILITY WILL BE AN IMPORTANT ADVANCEMENT IN THE UNDERSTANDING OF THECAUSES OF NEUROLOGICAL DEFICITS RELATED TO CARDIAC SURGERY. IT SHOULD ALLOW CRITICAL INTERVENTIONS TO BE MADE IN A TIMELY MANNER AND SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE THE OUTCOME OF MANY PATIENTS UNDERGOING CARDIOPULMONARY BYPASS.