Magnetic microactuators for MEMS-enabled ventricular catheters for hydrocephalus.

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 (40% in the first year). A leading cause of failure is the obstruction of the ventricular catheter. The goal of this project is to design a ventricular catheter that will resist occlusion through the use of micromachining and micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technologies. We designed, fabricated, and tested magnetic microactuators. The theoretical results show that the fabricated microactuators can produce the force necessary to remove an adherent cellular layer grown over the actuator surface. By integrating the microactuators into the catheters, we hope to produce an improved catheter with the ability to actively combat the health-threatening occlusion process.