This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to develop a noninvasive intracranial pressure (ICP) monitor based on a pilot clinical study correlating ocular blood pressure and blood flow parameters to ICP. The proposed novel device will combine several standard medical techniques used by ophthalmologists to gather data. The ultimate goal for this project is to develop a portable, easy-to-use unit that will be used by medical personnel on patients in the hospital, and prior to their arrival. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project, if successful, will be to improve the diagnosis of patients with head injury by improving the diagnosis of elevated ICP, and reducing the complications associated with unnecessary invasive procedures. ICP monitoring is a common tool for physicians treating patients with acute intracranial hypertension caused by neurological disorders, trauma, and stroke. Knowledge of a patient's ICP progression aids the physician in determining the optimal medical and/or surgical treatment. Every year, these surgical procedures expose patients to significant complications. Commercialization of a noninvasive ICP monitor would significantly decrease the burden on patients and to the healthcare system in the diagnosis and treatment of head injury by determining ICP more cheaply and safely than current technologies. A non-invasive method also would address the need for additional long-term ICP monitoring data, and expand the knowledge of how mild or moderate traumatic brain injury relates to ICP.
