Foreign researchers to develop “smart,” self-regulating shunt
Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich recently broke ground with exciting plans to use three-dimensional simulations of spinal fluid motions in order to design a shunt that is more intuitive and self-regulating. After making computer models of spinal fluid movements throughout one cardiac cycle, the researchers from a multidisciplinary team said they should be able to develop a shunt capable of controlling the outflow of excess fluid based specifically on each individual patient and their needs.
With such an advance, some of the shortfalls that arise with current shunt implants might be avoided. If using a self-regulation shunt, patients possibly will have to make far fewer follow-up visits to the doctor to make adjustments to the implanted shunt. Presently, some regular shunts have been reported to drain too much or too little spinal fluid from the brain; the Zurich researchers hope the so-called “Smart Shunt” would use a patient’s brain scan in order to act as a drain valve based on pressure and current conditions.
The researchers gathered together in a group called the “Smart Shunt” Project, a collaboration of international scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, the University Hospital of Basel and the University of Western Australia all intent on developing new treatments for hydrocephalus. The team focuses on devising a new shunt capable of adjusting itself according to knowledge of the interaction cerebrospinal fluid flow has with the brain and spinal cord.
To find out more about current news and publications from the “Smart Shunt” Project, click here. The Swiss Federal Insitute of Technology’s online magazine, ETH Life, can be found here and should update news concerning the Smart Shunt.
May 7th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
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