BRAIN TEMPERATURE AND INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE – A QUANTITATIVE BIOLOGICAL-THERMAL-MECHANICAL PERSPECTIVE

The present paper studies the effect of intracranial temperature (ICT) change on intracranial pressure (ICP). Thermal and mechanical effects were analyzed using a 3D finite element model of the human head. Variations in the mechanical properties of the tissues with age were considered. An analytical spherical model was also developed to demonstrate the fidelity of the numerical results. ICP was found to be closely co-related to ICT. For a person at 40 months old and above, the ICP was increased by about 8.28 mmHg when ICT was raised from 36°C to 41°C. The pathological treatment of hypothermia to reduce ICP is justified.