Game changing technology addresses unmet need in occlusion based shunt failures by providing a non-invasive solution to re-establish flow in occluded Ventricular Catheters

Ventricular catheter (VC) occlusion due to choroid plexus is the predominant cause of shunt malfunction whose prevention remains a major unsolved problem, despite best efforts of clinicians and device designers. Shunt malfunction usually demands can be life threatening, and frequently triggers urgent nocturnal surgical intervention to revise the shunt system, costing on average ~$34K per surgery. The total cost of shunt surgeries in the U.S. exceeds $2 billion per year. Clinical experience suggests that some of the occluded VCs can be unblocked by carefully “flushing” them with saline during surgery, restoring cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow, so potentially a pulse of retrograde flow could dislodge choroid plexus. We therefore sought to design a retrograde flushing device, used non-invasively, hoping to avoid a need for emergency surgery.