Physicians know that dangerous brain swelling needs to be detected and treated early to save lives and prevent further injury.  Pressure within the skull, termed intracranial pressure, can result from certain medical conditions, such as traumatic brain injury, stroke, meningitis, or liver failure. Intracranial pressure is measured with a monitor that is surgically placed in the brain or the space between the brain and skull.  Such procedures can risk  infection, bleeding, neurological damage.  Researchers are thrilled to discover that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans taken of the nerve behind the eye (optic nerve) are a noninvasive way of detecting intracranial pressure.

 

The researchers at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge found that MRI scans could be used to measure the covering (sheath) of the optic nerve.  In their study, optic nerve diameters  above a certain point correlated with increased intracranial pressure in 90% of cases.  The bottom line is that using MRI to measure optic nerve sheath diameter appears to be a promising non-invasive option for identifying intracranial pressure.