Prospective Ocular Imaging for Intracranial Pressure Evaluation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Prospective Ocular Imaging for Intracranial Pressure Evaluation
IRAS ID
324282
Contact name
Timothy Jackson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Elevated pressure around the brain (intracranial pressure, ICP) has many causes and can be associated with permanent neurological disability and vision loss. Current methods to measure and monitor ICP are invasive, costly and painful for patients, necessitating lumbar puncture (LP) needles inserted in the lower back or the insertion of transducer bolts into the brain ventricles, both of which carry risks of brain or spinal nerve injury and other complications, and require expertise to undertake and correctly interpret.
The spontaneous retinal venous pulsation (SVP) describes the pulsation of the retinal vein visible at the back of the eye which, if present, is highly predictive of normal ICP. As ICP rises, the SVP diminishes and eventually disappears. Ophthalmic examination skills are required to detect the SVP, and up to 20% of patients with otherwise normal ICP may not have a visible SVP to clinical examination, however newer eye imaging technology using both fixed-platform (table-mounted cameras) and hand-held, mobile devices has allowed us to record SVPs in high detail, improving the reliability of detecting this sign (to up to 99% of normal patients having a detectable SVP in a recent study) and allowing the exact quantification of SVP characteristics such as the pulsatility, length and location. There have been a lack of studies evaluating the relationship between SVP characteristics and contemporaneously measured ICP, or any studies aimed at developing software to non-invasively measure ICP based on SVP measurements.
The main purpose of this study is to develop a database of high-quality SVP videos recorded using two devices – one fixed-platform, and one hand-held – matched with ICP data, to help develop automated tools to detect and quantify SVPs. This in turn may lead to the development of a tool to non-invasively estimate ICP.
REC name
London - Westminster Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/LO/0688
Date of REC Opinion
2 Oct 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion