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Micro-fabricated Shunt to Mimic Arachnoid Granulations for the Treatment of Communicating Hydrocephalus
Book chapter   Peer reviewed

Micro-fabricated Shunt to Mimic Arachnoid Granulations for the Treatment of Communicating Hydrocephalus

Francis Kralick, Jonghyun Oh, Tim Medina and Hongseok (Moses) Noh
Intracranial Pressure and Brain Monitoring XIV, pp 239-242
13 Jan 2012
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-0956-4_47
PMID: 22327701

Abstract

Hydrocephalus Micro-fabrication Micro-needles Micro-valves Ventriculo-peritoneal shunt Ventriculo-sino shunts
Hydrocephalus is the abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within the confines of the skull that if left untreated results in significant morbidity and mortality. The treatment for hydrocephalus has remained essentially unchanged for over 50 years. It was a technological advance in materials that allowed John Holter, in conjunction with neurosurgeons Spitzer and Nulsen, to devise a valve and shunt system that diverted excess CSF from the ventricular space to the peritoneum. This ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunt is far from ideal, with problems associated with under/over shunting, mechanical mismatch, infection, high failure rates, disconnection and erosion. With the advances in the field of micro-fabrication and micro-machines we propose an innovative shunt system that would mimic the function of arachnoid granulations. This micro-fabricated shunting device, or micro-mechanical arachnoid granulation (MAG), consists of a multiplicity of micro-valves each 210 μm in diameter that each adhere to individual micro-needles. This work demonstrates the design and initial test results of the micro-valve with parameters for low cracking pressure, optimal flow rate, and reflux that would mimic the function of the native arachnoid granulations.

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