‘Pressure sensor’ may prevent dementia
A pressure sensor located inside the head could save people from dementia, strokes, and other conditions related to a rise in cerebral pressure. Rising blood pressure in the brain causes a disruption in circulation, killing off parts of the brain.
A pressure sensor located inside the head could save people from dementia, strokes, and other conditions related to a rise in cerebral pressure.
Rising blood pressure in the brain causes a disruption in circulation, killing off parts of the brain.
Methods to deal with heightened pressure involve inserting a probe through the skullcap to the brain, with a cable connecting the cable to the measuring apparatus.
Since cerebral pressure fluctuates, it takes extensive measurements in order to reach a definitive diagnosis of this disease. Patients therefore have to stay in hospital typically for several days, and sometimes even weeks.
Recognising the disadvantages of this approach, medical device engineers have been working on an intracranial pressure probe that operates without a cable and can be read from the outside using radio wave transmission.
However, the synthetic casing (which must be biologically-compatible), tends to allow moisture into the device, which destroys the sensor.
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT have developed a small sensor that stays waterproof. Instead of using synthetic materials to encase the sensor, they made a casing from high-grade metal.
The probe, which currently measures one cm high and two cm wide, will be even smaller in the future. A silicon pressure sensor is inside the metal enclosure, and the pressure in the brain is transmitted through a pliable metal membrane.
The measurement value is transmitted to the measuring device outside the body through a radio impulse.
Instead of an invasive procedure and hospitalisation, the patient, once implanted, only needs to visit the clinic for a brief measurement appointment.
The sensor is read from the outside within seconds. It operates without batteries, since it is activated by the reading device. The patient can wear it for several months, or even a number of years, without requiring additional surgery.
