Toward Self-Clearing Ventricular Catheter for Hydrocephalus Application

描述（由申请人提供）：脑积水患者最常见的治疗方法是手术植入脑脊液（CSF）分流管。不幸的是，这个对于降低颅内压至关重要的装置失败率很高。失败的主要原因是心室导管阻塞。基于我们对脑室导管阻塞的研究和我们在磁性MEMS方面的经验，我们试图通过集成磁性微致动器来实现一种自我清除的脑室导管，这种微致动器能够在不需要植入电源的情况下机械地保持脑室导管的清洁。我们建议的工作将主要集中在预防和/或逆转近端脑室导管阻塞。在大多数情况下，由于炎症细胞粘附在导管表面的蛋白质上而导致导管阻塞。该项目的目标是设计一种心室导管，通过使用微机电系统（MEMS）技术来抵抗细胞积聚造成的闭塞。我们之前已经演示了MEMS磁性微致动器在生物流体中的操作，而不需要直接连接电源或控制电子设备。我们还设计并测试了体外循环细胞培养装置来模拟细胞闭塞过程。利用我们的体外系统，我们试图评估我们的MEMS设备在预防和消除细胞闭塞方面的性能。我们的具体目标如下：(1)确定使用传统导管、微孔、非驱动装置和完全驱动装置的闭塞率；(2)确定维持孔隙流动的最佳活化参数（即转角挠度、活化频率和活化持续时间）；(3)将磁性微致动器集成到商用心室导管中，并测试其清孔效率。这项研究的成功完成将产生一种先进的医疗设备，通过减少分流梗阻的可能性来改善脑积水患者的生活。此外，我们的远程激活自清除装置技术可以很容易地转化为其他医疗应用，其中管腔或孔阻塞是并发症的来源（即其他长期导管，动脉，静脉）。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The most common treatment for patients with hydrocephalus is the surgical implantation of a cerebrospinal-fluid (CSF) shunt. Unfortunately, this device, which is critical for lowering intracranial pressure, has a substantial failure rate. A leading cause of failure is the obstruction of the ventricular catheter. Building upon our investigation of ventricular-catheter obstruction and our experience with magnetic MEMS, we seek to realize a self-clearing ventricular catheter through the integration of magnetic microactuators that are capable of mechanically maintaining a clear ventricular catheter without requiring an implanted power supply into the shunt. The work we propose will focus primarily on preventing and/or reversing proximal ventricular-catheter obstruction. In most cases, catheters become obstructed due to the accumulation of inflammatory cells that adhere to the proteins on the surface of the catheter. The goal of this project is to design a ventricular catheter that will resist occlusion due to cellular accumulation through the use of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technologies. We previously have demonstrated the operation of MEMS magnetic microactuators in biological fluids without the need for a directly wired power supply or control electronics. We have also designed and tested an in vitro circulating-cell-culture setup to model cellular occlusion process. Using our in vitro system, we seek to evaluate the performance of our MEMS devices in preventing and removing cellular occlusion. Our specific aims are as follows: (1) to determine the rate of occlusion using conventional catheter, microfabricated pores, non-actuated devices, and fully-actuated devices; (2) to determine the optimal parameters of activation (i.e., angular deflection, frequency of activation, and activation duration) for maintaining flow through pores; and (3) to integrate our magnetic microactuators into a commercial ventricular catheter and to test their pore-clearing efficiency. The successful completion of this research will result in an advanced medical device that will improve the lives of hydrocephalic patients by decreasing the probability of shunt obstruction. Moreover, our remote activated self-clearing device technology may easily be translated into other medical applications where obstruction in the lumen or pore is a source of complication (i.e., other long-term catheters, arteries, veins).