A CONTINUOUS NEUROLOGICAL FUNCTION MONITOR

THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A COMPUTER-BASED SYSTEM THAT WILL PROVIDE CONTINUOUS NEUROLOGICAL FUNCTION MONITORING OF PATIENTS IN A SURGICAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT. THE SYSTEM WILL RECORD, ANALYZE, AND TRACK CHANGES IN BOTH THE BACKGROUND ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG) AS WELL AS SENSORYEVOKED RESPONSES (SERS) ON A CONTINUOUS BASIS AND INTEGRATE THEM WITH OTHER PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS. ALTHOUGH IMPROVE-MENT IN PATIENT MANAGEMENT AND OUTCOME DUE TO THIS TYPE OF MONITORING HAS BEEN CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED, IT IS NOT DONE ON A WIDESPREAD BASIS DUE TO A NUMBER OF TECHNICAL AND ECONOMICPROBLEMS. THESE INCLUDE ELECTRODES, CUMBERSOME LEAD WIRES, ARTIFACTS FROM PATIENT MOVEMENT, DIFFICULTY OF EQUIPMENT USAGE, COST OF EQUIPMENT AND TECHNICIAN TIME, DATA ANALYSIS,AND LACK OF MEANINGFUL TRENDED DISPLAYS. RESEARCH DURING THIS PROJECT IS DIRECTED TOWARDS DESIGNING A LOW-COST, MICROCOMPUTER-BASED SYSTEM TO OVERCOME THESE PROBLEMS. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS DEVICE WILL ALLOW WIDESPREAD USE OF A TECHNIQUE THAT COULD SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE THE OUTCOME OF HEAD-INJURED PATIENTS AND OTHERS IN NEUROLOGICAL INTENSIVE CARE UNITS.