According to current Guidelines for the treatment of Traumatic brain injury (TBI) (Brain Trauma Foundation, 2017), it is recommended that Intracranial pressure (ICP) and Cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) be maintained within certain statistically generalized limits and not within the individual patient’s optimal limits, regardless of the specific characteristics of the patient and his or her injury. Such treatment based solely on maintaining ICP and CPP values at statistically average critical limits does not allow to improve the outcome of severe TBI patients, and their mortality remains high (approximately 30%). In order to personalize TBI patients’ treatment, it is necessary to identify the patient-specific tolerance of intracranial pressure-volume reserve described as intracranial compliance (IC). As a solution to this problem, we propose an innovative idea for non-invasive IC assessment based on ultrasound measurement of the changes in optic nerve subarachnoid space (ONSS) and non-invasive induction of intracranial volume increase.
The objective of the project is to develop an innovative non-invasive intracranial compliance measurement method that allows identifying intracranial compliance value for an individual patient.
Project activities: R&D of external intraocular pressure control and measurement equipment, development of a prototype for non-invasive IC measurement, and research of the developed non-invasive IC measurement method on healthy volunteers as well as on TBI patients.
The project results will be developed non-invasive intracranial compliance measurement method and its prototype. At least two USA (USPTO) and EU (EPO) patent applications are planned to protect the intellectual property of the R&D product.
Implementing the method proposed in the project would open new opportunities to personalize the treatment of TBI patients and improve their clinical outcomes. Today, the global market for such product is worth EUR 1.16 billion and it is predicted that the market for ICP measurement and monitoring technologies will reach EUR 2 billion by 2024.
Project funding:
This research project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund according to the 2014–2020 Operational Programme for the European Union Funds’ Investments, under measure’s No. 01.2.2-LMT-K-718 activity “Research Projects Implemented by World-class Researcher Groups to develop R&D activities relevant to economic sectors, which could later be commercialized”.
Period of project implementation: 2020-10-01 - 2023-10-31
Project coordinator: Kaunas University of Technology
Project partners: VŠĮ Vilniaus universiteto ligoninės Santaros klinikos
