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

该PFI项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是改善脑积水的治疗。自20世纪50年代以来，治疗的黄金标准是植入一根被称为分流器的管子，将大脑周围多余的液体排到身体其他地方，使其能够被安全吸收。虽然这种治疗是有效的，但分流失败率很高，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征兆，因此必须住在靠近大型医疗中心的地方。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何时以及为什么分流失败。在短期内，这种微型传感技术的创新将能够明确诊断分流器故障，从长远来看，提供有价值的数据，可以为设计抗故障分流器提供信息。潜在的社会影响是减少急诊室就诊，提高患者和家属的生活质量。潜在的商业影响是针对脑积水和其他医疗条件的新产品。拟议的项目将使自20世纪50年代引入分流器以来的脑积水护理得到重大改善。脑积水患者的症状是大脑和脊髓周围液体的分泌和身体对液体的吸收不平衡。植入大脑的分流器将液体转移到身体的其他地方，在那里它可以被安全吸收。植入大脑的分流器部分堵塞率很高，最初会导致患者症状模糊，但会逐渐恶化。一个主要的障碍是，如果不进行手术，就无法确定分流是否会失败。这可以通过将无线传感器集成到分路器中来解决，该分路器可以警告故障。新的进展使得极小的传感器可以直接在分流中监测治疗情况。该项目的目标是集成不同类型的传感器，在智能分流器中提供互补信息，开发脑积水患者的模拟台式模型，并证明智能分流器可以提供有关分流器正常功能或故障的准确信息。真实的患者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。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.