Strain-gauge fontanometry--an advance in non-invasive intracranial pressure measurement.

The validation of a fontanometer based on the strain-gauge principle is described. Fontanelle pressures correlated well with invasively determined cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressures in a group of neonates and infants with hydrocephalus. This device, which can be zeroed in vivo, has the additional advantage of a fast response time and allows reliable measurements of spontaneous pulsations and induced changes in CSF pressure. Unlike previously reported devices, the accuracy of this transducer was shown to be independent of external forces.