Intracranial Pressure Monitoring Device for Combat Casualty Care

Challenge

Head injuries to warfighters in remote and far-forward environments present a significant challenge to medics and aid workers who are increasingly without diagnostics and advanced treatment options. Intracranial pressure (ICP) is a physiologic parameter that is indicative of proper brain health. Traumatic events to the head and brain can cause ICP to elevate, which can rapidly become life-threatening.

The current standard of care for measuring and monitoring ICP is invasive and requires penetrating the skull with a monitoring device; a surgical procedure typically performed by a neurosurgeon. Invasive surgical procedures introduce additional risks to casualties, which are exacerbated by austere field conditions and limited access to neurosurgical providers in combat operations.

Casualties with elevated ICP are at particular risk, where delayed assessment and treatment can result in rapid decompensation, resulting in irreversible neurologic damage or death. Conversely, emergently evacuating less at-risk casualties places evacuation personnel at high risk.

Innovation

The capability for non-invasive ICP measurement has the potential to revolutionize the triage and management of severe head injuries across the military and civilian healthcare spectrum. It will allow easy and remote monitoring of prehospital, en route, post-surgical, hospital ward, and intensive care unit patients with concerns for elevated ICP. Ultimately, it will allow identification and treatment before severe neurologic injury or death occurs.

This capability will diminish costs due to the placement of invasive transcranial pressure measurement devices, rehabilitation from delayed diagnosis of elevated ICP, and personnel replacement due to avoidable deaths. It will also reduce infections from transcranial pressure transducers.

Status

Our multidisciplinary industry and academic team has submitted for federal funding support to develop a non-invasive ICP monitoring device prototype (TRL-7) system. It will use a micro-transducer array to measure the optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD), a reliable indicator of ICP.

The device is designed for use in austere environments and will be integrated with a mobile app for data interaction and display. The device will not require clinical or ultrasound training, allowing medics and aid workers to make informed, real-time decisions regarding the care and evacuation of casualties with head injuries.