ICP (Intracranial Pressure) is the pressure in the skull. When skull pressure occurs in case of an accident, before or after surgery, or due to other physical trauma – early detection of ICP may be lifesaving. The intraventricular catheter is an accurate monitoring method of ICP, but to insert an intraventricular catheter, a hole needs to be drilled through the skull and then the catheter is inserted through the brain into the lateral ventricle. Headsense has introduced an alternative method to this risky and invasive procedure by developing an earphone-like device that measures ICP non-invasively, using an acoustic signal.
When Headsense approached Taga, the company faced
... read moreICP (Intracranial Pressure) is the pressure in the skull. When skull pressure occurs in case of an accident, before or after surgery, or due to other physical trauma – early detection of ICP may be lifesaving. The intraventricular catheter is an accurate monitoring method of ICP, but to insert an intraventricular catheter, a hole needs to be drilled through the skull and then the catheter is inserted through the brain into the lateral ventricle. Headsense has introduced an alternative method to this risky and invasive procedure by developing an earphone-like device that measures ICP non-invasively, using an acoustic signal.
When Headsense approached Taga, the company faced a challenge: Their device consists of two parts that look like headphones, on one side a sound is sent at a certain frequency through the skull and should be received in the other earphone. An acoustic wave passes from side to side and a special application installed on a standard tablet analyzes the change in the wavelength to monitor the intracranial pressure. However, the two earphones should be in a straight line facing each other and should not move, in order to detect the acoustic signal.
So how do you make the two parts facing each other without moving, to allow the measurement? We made quite a few attempts until we came up with an unexpected solution: we used a simple clamp that is common in sports headsets, to keep the earphone in the ear. We then added a slanted flat part on the outer side of the headset so that when taped to the ear with a simple medical tape, it ensures the location of the earphones in the exact position in front of each other
The product was designed as a disposable kit. We developed, designed, and set up a mass production line to manufacture the kits including the design and manufacturing of packaging.
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Developing a non-invasive device for monitoring intracranial pressure with an acoustic signal and eliminating the need to drill the skull.
Taga designed, developed and produced special headphones that are fixed to the patient's ear, to allow transmission of an acoustic signal in a reliable way, to measure ICP.
