Medtronic
Bullseye

Shunt valve center finder

Project Type: 
Mechanical Engineering
Year: 
2017

Description

Hydrocephalus is a medical condition characterized by an excess of cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) in the brain's ventricles. The most popular treatments currently on the market are variable-flow shunt valves, which are implanted under the skull's skin and drain excess CSF into a body cavity. Medtronic released its first generation of variable-flow shunts with the Strata II family of valves, which were read and adjusted by using the handheld StrataVarius Adjustment System. However, when the Strata II valves were placed into an MRI, the magnetic field could accidentally adjust the flow rate(Performance Level or PL) of the valve itself, so Medtronic released the Strata MR Shunt Valve, which boasted MRI resistance as well as a new adjustment system. The MR's adjustment system lacked the center finding capabilities of the previous generation's StrataVarius Adjustment System, leading to the possibility of inaccurate PL readings/adjustments. Our project is to create a magnetic center finding device that will guide the physician to easily and accurately locate itself over the valve, limiting the number of readjustment appointments a patient may need.

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Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering