Hydrocephalus is developed when the flow of cerebrospinal fluid is obstructed in the ventricles and a pressure build-up is generated within the brain. Ventricular shunts are used to remove excess fluid from the brain, but these shunts have a common problem of failure due to the shunt being obstructed by the build-up of astrocytes. To address this, two sets of 27 designs of ventricular shunts were identified and analyzed with parameters that could potentially reduce obstruction risks. The performance of these designs was examined using fluid simulations on these two sets of 27 designs. One set explored close-tipped shunt designs, and the other assessed open-tipped ones. Following these simulations, adjustments were made to three design variables of the ventricular catheters - inlet hole size, inner shunt diameter, and inner-segment distance. The goal was to optimize these variables to prevent obstruction, ensuring three key design objectives were met: maintaining wall shear stress, ensuring a balanced inlet and outlet pressure difference, and achieving a uniform flow distribution.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-6969 |
| Date | 08 August 2023 |
| Creators | Kirkpatrick, Will |
| Publisher | Scholars Junction |
| Source Sets | Mississippi State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
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