The monitoring of intracranial pressure has been the standard of care in the management of traumatic brain injuries. However, elevated intracranial pressure is a rather late-stage indicator of a patient's status and probable outcome.
There is a need in the industry to both monitor a broader array of parameters of brain function and improve the ability to monitor such parameters in real time and in relation to one another. One such improvement is the spirally-rolled microtube of Li et al., “Flexible Microsensors on Spirally Rolled Micro Tube for Cardiovascular In Vivo Monitoring,” Biosensors and Bioelectronics 22 (2007) 1988-1993.
There is also a need in the industry to more effectively deliver substances (e.g., drugs) to the brain to treat patients that have brain injuries, as well as a need to more effectively remove substances (e.g., cerebrospinal fluid) from the brain.