Principal Investigator Thomas Heldt
Brain tissue is highly vulnerable to unbalanced oxygen demand and supply. A few seconds of oxygen deficit may trigger neurological symptoms, and sustained oxygen deprivation over a few minutes may result in severe and often irreversible brain damage. The rapid dynamics coupled to the potential for severe injury necessitate continuous, and ideally noninvasive, cerebrovascular monitoring in the populations at greatest risk for developing or exacerbating brain injury. One of the key variables to monitor in patients with brain injury is intracranial pressure (ICP), which determines the pressure on brain tissue and also affects cerebral perfusion. Current measurement modalities for ICP require the penetration of the skull and the placement of a pressure-sensitive probe in the brain parenchyma or cerebral fluid spaces. With colleagues from neurosurgery, vascular neurology, internal and critical care medicine (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston Medical Center), we are developing and validating non-invasive methods to assess ICP continuously and robustly in a patient-specific and calibration-free manner.