Astronauts coming back from the International Space Station (ISS) can experience significant and permanent ocular damage which appears to be correlated with elevated intracranial pressure (ICP). To date, little is known about the causes of these pathologies, and NASA wants a non-invasive device to monitor the astronauts’ brains in space. Cerebrotech is developing the first completely non-invasive monitor to detect changes to intracranial fluid (ICF). The device uses a proprietary technology called Volumetric Integral Phase-shift Spectroscopy (VIPS), which was developed at the University of California at Berkeley.
Overview
Preventing Secondary Brain Injury by Early Detection of Cerebral Bleeding and Edema
Principal Investigator:
Mitchell Levinson
Organization:
Cerebrotech Medical Systems, Inc.
Technical Summary
VIPS exploits the changes in electrical properties of tissue as a result of small changes in fluids. These changes in electrical properties can be detected by measuring the frequency response of the phase angle between a transmitter and receiver antenna as depicted below. The phase angle is a measure of the speed of propagation of the waves through the tissue, which is a function of frequency, impedance and dielectric constant. By taking a baseline reading, we can compare subsequent readings to detect changes to fluids in the brain. Since the bone and protein remain essentially constant, the changes we see are solely the result of fluid changes, such as bleeding and edema.
The Cerebrotech device consists of at least one transmitter and one receiver antenna placed to measure the fluids in the brain. Low-power electromagnetic waves at multiple frequencies are transmitted through the brain and the phase shift between the transmitter and receiver are measured. Because the different fluids in the brain cause different phase shifts at different frequencies, VIPS can differentiate between the fluid compartments. For example, we can see edema forming, movement of CSF, increases and decreases in intracranial blood volume.
The device and technology are robust, portable, non-contact, and inexpensive, so VIPS can be used as a continuous bedside monitor for detection of early stages of cerebral edema and bleeding, and can also address mobile and home use applications.
The Cerebrotech device consists of at least one transmitter and one receiver antenna placed to measure the fluids in the brain. Low-power electromagnetic waves at multiple frequencies are transmitted through the brain and the phase shift between the transmitter and receiver are measured. Because the different fluids in the brain cause different phase shifts at different frequencies, VIPS can differentiate between the fluid compartments. For example, we can see edema forming, movement of CSF, increases and decreases in intracranial blood volume.
The device and technology are robust, portable, non-contact, and inexpensive, so VIPS can be used as a continuous bedside monitor for detection of early stages of cerebral edema and bleeding, and can also address mobile and home use applications.
Earth Applications
There is a glaring gap in diagnosing and monitoring patients for brain edema and bleeding. At most, CT and MRI only provide daily snapshots, and other probes like intracranial pressure (ICP) monitors are extremely invasive and are only used in the most serious cases. Most patients are left largely unmonitored in their hospital beds, except for periodic subjective clinical neurological exams, leaving them exposed to a risk of undetected brain edema or bleeding, until it causes a significant and detectable neurological deficit—and by then it is too late. During this period, the physician knows little about the status of the brain, and orders thousands of dollars on serial medical imaging and nursing examinations, with little chance of detecting the problem in time to prevent secondary brain injury.
VIPS technology uses magnetic induction to detect small changes in the fluid volume of the brain. Patients wear it like a headband without requiring electrical contact with the skin. The monitor can be worn continuously to detect brain fluid changes from baseline, aiding the physician in detection of increasing brain edema or bleeding, as well as providing objective feedback for medical management and medication dosing.
The product will address a market of millions of patients worldwide, for an addressable market size of several billion dollars annually. The initial target application is patients in hospitals after stroke, traumatic brain injury or other conditions which put them at risk for secondary brain injury as the result of bleeding or edema. This application alone addresses the needs of 3.3 million patients worldwide.
VIPS technology uses magnetic induction to detect small changes in the fluid volume of the brain. Patients wear it like a headband without requiring electrical contact with the skin. The monitor can be worn continuously to detect brain fluid changes from baseline, aiding the physician in detection of increasing brain edema or bleeding, as well as providing objective feedback for medical management and medication dosing.
The product will address a market of millions of patients worldwide, for an addressable market size of several billion dollars annually. The initial target application is patients in hospitals after stroke, traumatic brain injury or other conditions which put them at risk for secondary brain injury as the result of bleeding or edema. This application alone addresses the needs of 3.3 million patients worldwide.
This project's funding ended in 2014