| 摘要 |
A ventriculostomy tube having a semi-rigid body and a fluid transmissive passageway extending from a first end to a second end of the tube is inserted through an aperture in a skull. The first end of the tube includes a port for establishing fluid communication between the passageway and a fluid space within the brain tissue surrounding the tube known as the lateral ventricle. By establishing fluid communication between the lateral ventricle of the brain and the second end of the tube, the ventriculostomy tube enables intracranial pressure to be continuously monitored. An electric current is passed through electrical leads extending along the length of the ventriculostomy tube to a thermistor which is secured to the exterior surface of the tube at a first elevation to measure the temperature of the brain tissue at a first elevation. Control means is electrically coupled to the thermistor and provides electrical energy to establish a temperature gradient between the thermistor and the adjacent brain tissue to transfer heat from the thermistor into the brain tissue. Measurement means is coupled to the control means to measure the flow of electrical energy through the thermistor and to compute the thermal conductivity of the brain tissue and blood adjacent to the thermistor to determine local cerebral blood flow (LCBF).
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