Project description
Brain health monitoring at high altitudes
Cerebral hypoxia has long perplexed medical professionals in critical care medicine. Marked by a shortage of oxygen supply to the brain, the condition can inflict permanent neuronal damage. While cerebral hypoxia affects nearly half of all critically ill patients, studying this condition remains a formidable task. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the US-CHIMP project will study this condition at high-altitude environments, where oxygen is scarce. Specifically, it will combine cutting-edge technology, including volumetric ultrasound to measure optic nerve sheath diameter and wave intensity analysis from arteries, as surrogates for intracranial pressure and cerebral oxygen delivery changes. This user-friendly, non-invasive diagnostic tool promises to transform bedside monitoring for various conditions, from intracranial haemorrhage to stroke.
Objective
A lack of oxygen in the human brain (cerebral hypoxia) can result in permanent neuronal damage. Cerebral hypoxia is prevalent in half of all critical ill patients, but poor health impedes research in the intensive care unit. High-altitude exposure (>2500 m) is associated with a lower pressure of oxygen and offers a unique setting to investigate hypoxia-driven changes in otherwise healthy individuals. Unfortunately, at present, non-invasive methods to quantify surrogates of cerebral hypoxia are either laborious and require high-skilled personnel or have large inter-/intra-observer variability and no clear cut-off values. A user-friendly, unambiguous, and accessible diagnostic tool is urgently needed for the monitoring and decision-making in the field and at the beside. US-CHIMP (UltraSound Cerebral Hypoxia Imaging for Monitoring and Prevention) aims to provide a proof-of-concept by combining volumetric US to measure optic nerve sheath diameter as a surrogate of intracranial pressure with wave intensity analysis from the internal carotid and vertebral artery as a surrogate of changes in cerebral oxygen delivery. In three work packages US-CHIMP builds the theoretical groundwork through simulation (WP1/WP2) and the first practical proof-of-concept through translation in an experimental study (WP3) in which human volunteers are exposed to mild hypobaric hypoxia. WP3 is performed in the terraXcube, an extraordinary environmental chamber of the Institute of Mountain Emergency Medicine at Eurac Research. US-CHIMP will provide accurate information about key clinical syndromes. The data is directly relevant to the management of conditions related to high-altitude hypoxia. Besides, many clinical conditions such as intracranial haemorrhage, brain injury and stroke present with elevated intracanal pressures and altered cerebral haemodynamics. Their management will be supported by an accessible and reliable non-invasive bedside monitoring that US-CHIMP aims to provide.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinator
39100 Bolzano
Italy