A novel method for detecting intracranial pressure changes by monitoring cerebral perfusion via electrical impedance tomography

Abstract Background Acute and critical neurological diseases are often accompanied with elevated intracranial pressure (ICP), leading to insufficient cerebral perfusion, which may cause severe secondary lesion. Existing ICP monitoring techniques often fail to effectively meet the demand for real-time noninvasive ICP monitoring and warning. This study aimed to explore the use of electrical impedance tomography (EIT) to provide real-time early warning of elevated ICP by observing cerebral perfusion. Methods An intracranial hypertension model was prepared by injecting autologous un-anticoagulated blood into the brain parenchyma of twelve Landrace swine. Invasive ICP monitoring was used as a control method, and a high-precision EIT system was used to acquire and analyze the changing patterns of cerebral perfusion EIT image parameters with respect to ICP. Four EIT parameters related to cerebral perfusion were extracted from the images, and their potential application in detecting ICP elevation was analyzed. Results When ICP increased, all EIT perfusion parameters decreased significantly (P 22 mmHg), the correlation between EIT perfusion parameters and ICP was more significant (P