Phantom-Based Evaluation of a Planar Microwave Sensor for Non-Invasive Intracranial Pressure Monitoring

Intracranial pressure (ICP) measurements are essential to improve current clinical decision schemes in different scenarios: hospital, home, sports field, military field, etc. ICP is fundamental for understanding cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) mechanics and modelling better physiological conditions. Nowadays, several studies have focused on developing non-invasive ICP monitoring methods (nICP) based on different sensing modalities with advantages and disadvantages. Some works have focused on microwave-based sensing; among them is the application of NASA SansEC spectroscopy technology. This work extends previous results on this technology to nICP. Notably, in a simple phantom-based experiment and with a square spiral planar resonator sensor, pressure values up to 48 mmHg could be achievable. The phantom-based experiment consists of a large column tank gradually filled with a liquid that mimics the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) based on data from the Italian database IFAC. Microwave-based methods for non-invasive intracranial pressure monitoring could be instrumental as tools that can be easily embedded and worn and give indications of brain health to trigger proper care in the future.