For many years scientists have been endeavor to find a elbow room to measure the pressure in a patient ’s genius without throw to bore a hole in the person ’s skull . Although this remains the most true agency to measure pressure in the Einstein it is incursive , expensive and follow with the risk of transmission and bleeding .
Assessing insistence inside the brain is an authoritative part of diagnosing sure neurosurgical conditions . These let in Einstein tumour , cranial deformities , traumatic Einstein hurt and infection .
Several geezerhood ago ultrasound imaging engineering science , which expend an ultrasonography probe over the oculus , was introduced as a non - invading method acting to name this insistence using static imaging . But although it allows brain surgeon to assess most cases of insistence inside the brain , static ultrasound imaging does not peck up all the cases .
Our study , to be write before long , has advanced the current static tomography method . Our proficiency postulate examine a light video clip of the back of the eye to mark pressure in the psyche . It is a quicker and potentially more precise manner than the live technique .
There are limited statistics about children with neurosurgical disorders in Africa , but the act of shaver with hydrocephalus is thought to be quite mellow . Hydrocephalus is the outcome of a build up of liquid pressure which compresses the brain and causes the skull to enlarge . Untreated , it could ensue in death .
A true proficiency to estimate the pressure on the brain therefore needs to be very precise .
Using sound waves to see the brain
The eye is directly connect to the mentality by the optical nerve which sit at the back of the orb . It deliver the visual information collected by the retina to the brain . The optic heart sheath is a balloon work structure . As pressure in the psyche build up fluid from the brain is forced along this sheath . It enlarge this case in the same style that a balloon is blow up .
The visual pathway therefore permit us to extract important info from the brain using non - invasive mental imagery techniques . Recent advances in ultrasound imaging technology have made it a very likable tool to assess raised pressure level inside the skull . The use of ultrasound in neurosurgery is most appealing because it is radiation sickness - destitute , portable , widely uncommitted and relatively cheap .
The way the proficiency lick is that the ultrasound probe is put over the closed eye allowing us to see the deeper optic structures as they unite with the nous .
The currently usedtechniqueinvolves a snap of the opthalmic boldness cocktail dress . The breadth of the case is then compared to other clinical and imaging markers to generalize that there was increased pressure in the brain .
How the new technique works
Our study has several differences from the existing static imaging technique . Aside from measuring the change in the diameter of the case to indicate increase press , we have develop a dynamic technique that analyses the way the sheath motility as a result of the somebody ’s pulse . This movement was then compared with intracranial insistency , demonstrating a remarkable consistence .
As an initial field of study we performed the echography mensuration on a large age group of children . Previous studies using the sonography technique on children have not compare it to forthwith measured press in the brain . Diagnosing neurological disease in children is notoriously hard because the symptoms are often quite subtle .
We also identified certain shortcoming in the current ‘ unchanging imaging ’ technique which resulted in modified truth , a limit describe in many otherstudies .
Although the motionless technique takes between two to three minutes to hoard all the images that are needed , our proficiency could significantly decrease this time to around 30 seconds to record the selective information .
It is also the first study of its kind to be impart on such a large grouping of patients , with substantial result .
The purpose of non - trespassing techniques to measure the pressure inside the brain to name sure neurological condition has hit much attention lately . These include measuring of bloodline flow to thebrainand the pressure sensation in theear . But many of these study have been set because of inconsistentaccuracy .
Making it more accessible
Our goal is to rarify the accuracy and improve the simplicity of our technique . By doing this we hope that assessing the pressure inside the skull using this modify proficiency can be perform at a primary health care spirit level .
This would speed up the diagnosing of raised pressure sensation in the nous associated with certain neurologic disorders .
In a resource challenged environment like South Africa , where the average child with a neurological condition is referred to the appropriate core much by and by than they should be , an precise tool that allows former diagnosis would make a substantial divergence . From a neurosurgical position , diagnosing increased air pressure in the encephalon before would be a useful mark of underlying neurologic disease .
This simplify yet effective technique has the potential to modify the way we diagnose certain neurologic conditions . But more significantly perhaps , this could peradventure be done at the grade of primary health fear facilities , such as twenty-four hour period hospital and clinic .
This study is a collaboration between the UCT ’s division of neurosurgery and a go Norse research institute and it has receive a tentative patent .
Llewellyn Padayachyis a Paediatric brain surgeon at theUniversity of Cape Town
This clause was primitively published onThe Conversation . Read theoriginal article .
Image byUCI Institute for Innovationunder Creative Commons licence .
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