Application to CA withdrawn due to technical reasons of the manufacturer

This clinical trial evaluates the safety and diagnostic performance of a newly developed combined catheter that will be implanted into the brain of patients with severe brain injury for short time (up to 28 days) monitoring of the electric activity and the metabolism of brain tissue at risk. Ten patients will be monitored with the new device and seven patients will be monitored by intracerebral probes according to standard treatment.

Early detection of nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) in patients treated in neurological intensive care unit (NICU) is essential, as delayed treatment can aggravate their clinical situation and worsen the outcome. In this study in intensive care patients with severe brain injury due to malignant middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarction, subarachnoidal hemorrhage (SAH) or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) with suspected status epilepticus in the surface EEG the hybrid catheter Dialytrode will be implanted in the cortical brain tissue by neurosurgeons for short time continuous bedside multimodal neuro-monitoring. Dialytrode combines a microdialysis catheter and depth EEG probe. Ten subjects will be monitored by Dialytrode and an additional (intracranial pressure (ICP) probe. Subjects with an clinical indication of an external ventricular drain (EVD) or cerebral microdialysis alone serve as control. The monitoring period with the device is limited to the microdialysis phase with a maximum of 28 days. Subjects will be followed up for 7 days after end of intracerebral monitoring.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Clinical condition requiring treatment in NICU
2. MCA OR Subarachnoidal haemorrhage (SAH) OR Intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH)
3. Given indication of EVD with or without multimodal monitoring by micro-dialysis OR Given indication of multimodal monitoring by micro-dialysis and continuous depth EEG-monitoring due to (a) suspected SE in surface EEG (e.g. rhythmic pattern) or (b) refractory status epilepticus (RSE) in surface EEG or (c) an unclear situation of not waking up even though sedation is reduced OR Suspected SE without acute brain injury

Exclusion Criteria (main criteria):

• Subject receiving anticoagulants in therapeutic dose
• Bleeding disorder
• Known contraindications for EEG depth electrodes or microdialysis probes
• Presence of an infectious lesion of skin (limited to the scalp)
• Presence of general contraindications for any surgical intervention
• Sepsis or acute severe bacterial infection
• Fragile bones of the skull
• Severe organ failure or medical conditions displaying a contraindication for participating
• Pregnant or nursing woman