Personalised mechatronic valve time-schedule optimiser for hydrocephalus shunt

Abstract

Hydrocephalus is an excessive accumulation of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the ventricles of the brain, without treatment it leads in brain damage. The usual treatment is a shunt procedure implanted into the ventricles of the brain to drain the excess fluid to another part of the body. Current shunts are controlled by a pressure dependent valve, while recent developed shunts are utilising mechatronic valves. Compared to the current differential pressure valves, mechatronic valves are regulated by time-based schedule rather than differential pressure across the valve. Therefore, it is important that this time schedule is chosen properly for each patient so that a normal ICP is preserved. Choosing proper time schedule for each patient is still one of the challenges facing the implementation of such valves. This work presents a new method to propose optimal valve time-schedule using an ICP dynamics model and patient's ICP traces, so that shunt valves can be configured accordingly. This method presents a precise and efficient way of how the ICP model can be utilised in evaluating the patient's ICP traces and hence proposing a personalised optimal valve time-schedule as a function of mean measured ICP for each individual patient that can keep the ICP within the normal levels.