SBIR Phase I: Non-invasive Pulse Waveform Analysis for Measuring Intracranial Pressure

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将产生第一个手持式非侵入性设备，用于测量头部和大脑内的压力。拟议的设备将是一个简单的传感器，可以放置在皮肤上，根据脉搏确定大脑压力。在来往于头部的血管内。脉搏波分析是一项监测心血管健康状况的成熟技术，但这是第一次开发这种技术来监测头骨和大脑内的压力。NeuroDx的初步研究表明，这项技术可能有助于快速筛查患者潜在的有害的头部和大脑压力升高。这项研究的更广泛影响将是提供一种新的方法，用于测量严重颅脑损伤(美国每年有23.5万例非军事病例)以及脑瘤和其他神经疾病患者(美国每年有11万例)后大脑健康的一个重要决定因素。现有的测量头部压力的方法使用的是必须放置在头骨内的探头，需要手术和特殊设施。拟议的设备将使头部和大脑压力能够在不对患者造成风险的情况下进行监测，并在现场情况下(如由急救人员)。这项拟议的研究有望显著提高我们对头部和脑损伤动力学的理解。通过德雷克斯大学-S合作教育项目，它将具有强大的教育成分。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will result in the first hand-held, non-invasive device for measuring pressure within the head and brain. The proposed device will be a simple sensor that can be placed against the skin and that will determine brain pressure from the ?pulse? within blood vessels traveling to and from the head. Pulse wave analysis is an established technique for monitoring cardiovascular health, but this is the first time such a technique will be developed for monitoring pressure within the skull and brain. Preliminary studies by NeuroDx suggest that the technique may be useful as a way of rapidly screening patients for potentially harmful elevated head and brain pressure.The broader impacts of this research will be to provide a new method for measuring an important determinant of brain health following serious head injury (235,000 non-military cases in the U.S. annually) and in patients with brain tumors and other neurological disorders (110,000 cases in the U.S. annually). Existing methods for measuring pressure within the head use a probe that must be placed within the skull, requiring surgery and special facilities. The proposed device will enable head and brain pressure to be monitored without risk to the patient, and in field situations (such as by first-responders). The proposed study is expected to significantly improve our understanding of the dynamics of head and brain injury. It will have a strong educational component through Drexel University?s Co-op Educational Program.