Spectral Analysis of Tympanic Membrane Pulse Signal: An Approach for Noninvasive Detection of Elevated Intracranial Pressure

Elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) is a major neurological issue that can occur in traumatic brain injury, cerebral edema, subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracerebral hemorrhage, hydrocephalus, etc. The normal range of ICP is 5-15 mmHg for healthy adults [1]. Elevated ICP (>20 mmHg) can cause serious complications including seizures and death. The current gold standards for ICP measurement require a high level of expertise and are invasive, costly and associated with intracranial infection risks [2]. Therefore, noninvasive monitoring of ICP would be useful for improved patient diagnosis and management. Previous studies [3]-[4] have suggested potential utility of tympanic membrane pulsation (TMp) measurements for detection of elevated ICP. The current study reports consistent TMp waveform and spectral changes with elevated ICP.