New Method Created by Brazilian Scientist to Measure Brain Pressure Now Available at Hospitals

05/11/2018 - 11h45

A medical technology born out of the dissatisfaction of a Brazilian scientist with his own treatment is beginning to reach hospitals.

The system, called Braincare, is the first non-invasive method to measure pressure inside the skull, and it has the potential of being used in a series of problems affecting the nervous and cardiovascular systems.

The company created to sell the system announced an agreement with Hospital Sírio-Libanês so that its technology to measure ICP (intracranial pressure) may be applied to patients treated at the institution and at public health units managed by it.

Until recently, the prevailing idea was that the skull of adult humans was so rigid that it would be impossible to measure pressure variations by means of external instruments. When an ICP measurement is required, the usual procedure is to make a small hole in the skull and place a sensor inside it.

Physicist Sérgio Mascarenhas, 90, researcher at USP São Carlos since the 1950s, had to go through such a procedure in 2006, when he was diagnosed with hydrocephalus (accumulation of fluid within the brain).

	Mariana Costa / UnB
	Sérgio Mascarenhas

Frustrated by the need to open his skull for this sole purpose, Mascarenhas began studying the issue with the help of a series of students.

Patents to protect the intellectual property of the system have already been granted in the USA and are currently under evaluation in Brazil. The product has already been approved by ANVISA (Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency).

Translated by ANA BEATRIZ DEMARIA

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