PFI-TT: Sensor System for Early Warning of Hydrocephalus Shunt Failure

这个PFI项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是改善脑积水的治疗。自20世纪50年代以来，黄金护理标准一直是植入一种名为分流管的管子，将体内其他地方环绕大脑的多余液体排出，在那里可以安全地吸收这些液体。虽然这种治疗是有效的，但分流失败的比率很高，最常见的原因是堵塞。由于没有明确的患者症状，医学成像技术也没有足够的分辨率，患者生活在恐惧中，担心他们的头痛可能是失败的早期迹象，必须住在大型医疗中心附近。分流技术几十年来没有进步的一个主要原因是，没有传感器可以确定分流失败的时间和原因。在短期内，这种小型化传感技术的创新将使分流故障的准确诊断成为可能，从长远来看，将提供有价值的数据，为抗故障分流的设计提供参考。潜在的社会影响是减少急诊室就诊次数，提高患者及其家属的生活质量。潜在的商业影响是针对脑积水和其他医疗条件的新产品。自1950年代引入分流术以来，拟议的项目将使脑积水的护理得到重大改善。脑积水患者大脑和脊髓周围液体的产生和身体对液体的吸收不平衡。植入大脑的分流管将液体转移到身体其他地方，在那里可以安全地吸收液体。高比例的分流管植入脑阻塞，导致患者最初症状模糊，但情况逐渐恶化。一个主要的障碍是无法确定分流术在不手术的情况下即将失败。这可以通过将无线传感器集成到分流器中来解决，该分流器可以警告故障。新的进步使极小的传感器能够直接监测分流管中的治疗。该项目的目标是集成不同类型的传感器，在智能分流装置中提供补充信息，开发模拟脑积水患者的台式模型，并证明智能分流装置可以提供有关分流装置正确功能或故障的准确信息。患者的现实台式模型对于在未来的临床前测试之前优化传感器至关重要。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this PFI project is to improve treatment of hydrocephalus. Since the 1950s, the gold standard of care has been to implant a tube, called a shunt, that drains excess fluid surrounding the brain elsewhere in the body where it can be safely absorbed. While this treatment is effective, the shunts fail at high rates and most commonly because of clogging. Because there are no clear patient symptoms and medical imaging technologies do not have sufficient resolution, patients live in fear that their headache may be an early sign of failure and must live close to a major medical center. A major reason why shunt technology has not advanced in many decades is that there are no sensors that can determine when and why shunts fail. In the near term, this innovation in miniaturized sensing technology will enable definitive diagnosis of shunt failure and in the long term, provide valuable data that can inform the design of failure-resistant shunts. The potential societal impacts are reduced emergency room visits and improved quality of life for patients and family members. The potential commercial impacts are new products for hydrocephalus and other medical conditions. The proposed project will enable a major improvement in hydrocephalus care since the introduction of shunts in the 1950s. Hydrocephalus patients suffer from an imbalance in the production of fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord and its absorption by the body. A shunt implanted in the brain diverts fluid elsewhere in the body where it can be safely absorbed. The portion of the shunt implanted in the brain clogs at high rates leading to vague patient symptoms at first but that become progressively worse. A major obstacle is the inability to determine that a shunt is about to fail without surgery. This can be solved by integrating wireless sensors into the shunt that warn of failure. New advancements have enabled extremely small sensors that can monitor treatment directly in the shunt. The goal of this project is to integrate different sensor types that provide complementary information in a smart shunt, develop a simulated benchtop model of a hydrocephalic patient, and demonstrate that the smart shunt can provide accurate information on the proper function or failure of the shunt. The realistic benchtop model of the patient is critical to optimize sensors prior to future pre-clinical testing.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.