A Computer Model of Intracranial Dynamics

A software model of intracranial dynamics was developed using existing relationships between patient physiology and brain dynamics. The relationship between the physiologic parameters arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO,), arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO,), mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), temperature (T) and brain dynamics were obtained from literature and were coded into software using Borland C. This computer model was integrated with a full scale patient simulator which generated the physiological inputs to the brain model. This integration allows users of the patient simulator to see the effects of their clinical interventions on brain dynamics through a real-time display. The display outputs the following intracranial variables: cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral blood volume (CBV), cerebral metabolic rate (CMRO,), cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), and intracranial pressure (ICP). The ability to visualize intracranial events as they are affected by physiology is a useful tool for teaching and training students.