A SOUTHAMPTON engineer has devised a revolutionary system to help monitor patients with serious head injuries.

Dr Richard Penson, based at Southampton Institute, has spent ten years developing the technology, which he believes can help diagnose a range of problems from blood clots to brain tumours.

The cheap and compact system could replace some of the current invasive procedures for measuring pressure in the skull, such as inserting probes through holes drilled in the skull or using highly-expensive MRI scanners, which are in short supply in the South.

Dr Penson carried out the research with Professor Robert Allen at Southampton University and Anthony Birch at the General Hospital.

He said: "Theoretically, it could be used in out-patients' clinics and doctors' surgeries."

The new equipment uses a headset to measure blood flow in the brain and a finger sensor to test blood pressure. The combined measurements show if the brain is becoming harder - a clue that a serious problem is developing.

"When the patient has a blood clot or a tumour, the brain becomes stiffer, and that will be reflected in the difference between the two signals. A long-term patient could be tested once a week to see the effect of chemotherapy on a brain tumour."

Dr Penson is arranging clinical trials to test the effectiveness of the technology on a large group of patients.

He hopes to carry out the trial when he attends a conference in Cambridge in September

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