Pressure switch inside the head: researchers develop intra-cranial pressure monitoring implant

An increase in cerebral pressure may cause dementia and could destroy the brain. Companies have been seeking to find monitoring sensors that can be implanted into the brain, and read from outside the body. A tiny sensor may provide the help needed.

To this day it remains a mystery why the cerebral pressure in certain people suddenly increases. The consequences, however, are better understood - the blood circulation is disrupted and after a while parts of the brain may die off, similar to what occurs in a stroke.

This is how dementia takes its insidious path. Experts estimate that up to 10 per cent of all cases of dementia in Europe can be attributed to rising blood pressure in the brain.

Still, making the diagnosis is tough. People with a heightened susceptibility to a rise in intra-cranial pressure must be treated with intensive medical care today. A probe is inserted that goes from the outside through the skullcap to the brain. The cable keeps the patient connected 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.

Moisture corrodes predecessor prototypes
For some time now, bio engineers or 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.