Low-pressure, fibre Bragg grating pressure sensors for measurement of cerebrospinal fluid pressures associated with spinal cord injury

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Spinal cord injury (SCI) is severe and debilitating with significant personal, social and economic costs. The complex mechanical interactions between the spinal cord and the surrounding cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and dura both during and after SCI are not well understood. The equipment requested in this proposal will be used to construct a sensitive, low pressure range, Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) pressure sensor array which is optimized for the high-rate measurement of in vivo CSF pressure prior to, during, and after an SCI in an animal model.In a collaboration between the University of Victoria and University of British Columbia, we have recently developed and implemented a sensor based on fibre-optic strain measurement, for the measurement of intervertebral disc pressures in the range of 0 to 3 MPa. The small size (400 µm diameter), mechanical compliance, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and biocompatibility, make this device ideal for biomedical applications. The current research will utilize a multi-sensor array with an improved light source and detection scheme which will extend its capabilities to the sub-kPa pressure range required for spinal fluid pressure measurement and improve the speed with which it can be measured.By studying the CSF pressure variation above and below the injury site in the hours following SCI, and during surgical decompression of the spinal cord we will provide important information to clinicians studying the feasibility of CSF drainage for spinal cord perfusion management. Also, By measuring the CSF pressure associated with spinal cord injury, we will provide important information to the basic science community, to inform and define the limitations of current animal, synthetic and computational models of SCI which do not currently consider the CSF interaction with the spinal cord and dura during acute SCI.