Growing Need: Monitoring Brain Trauma

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients may suffer progressive deterioration resulting from secondary factors related to the initial injury. Hence, doctors need to non-invasively monitor such brain health indicators as cerebral blood flow, cerebral tissue oxygenation, and intracranial pressure (ICP). Monitoring devices employ a range of diagnostic technologies, including near-infrared spectroscopy, acoustics, and impedance. ICP - a key indicator of patient outcomes when monitored continuously - still requires invasive techniques, which militates against its widespread or continuous use. Of the six FDA-approved devices, only one monitors ICP, although that number may rise as two more near the clinical-trial stage.

Editor's Note: This news brief was brought to you by the Sensors & Switches eNewsletter. Subscribe today to have content like this delivered to your inbox