A novel lab-on-a-tube for multimodal monitoring of patients with traumatic brain injury

A novel lab-on-a-tube (LOT) integrated with spirally-rolled pressure, temperature, oxygen and glucose microsensors has been designed, fabricated, and characterized for multimodal neuromonitoring of patients with traumatic brain injury and other acute neurosurgical and neurological disorders. While it is capable of measuring various crucial physiological parameters in real-time continuous formats, the LOT if placed in the lateral ventricle of the brain, can also lower the elevated intracranial pressure by draining cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). A customized signal conditioning circuit and monitor have been developed to record and display the measured data. The newly developed system is capable of reliably monitoring physiological and metabolic parameters in CSF for at least up to 5 days. The device represents a very significant advance in the technology of neuromonitoring.