Need Statement
External Ventricular Drain (EVD) is an extremely common neurosurgical procedure that relies on draining excess cranial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in hydrocephalus patients in which the current monitoring and flow rate control methods are time-consuming and inadequate for patient safety, opening the door for a novel drainage system that reduces clinical monitoring, increases patient safety, and improves quality of life.
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Project Scope
External Ventricular Drain (EVD) is an extremely common neurosurgical procedure that relies on draining excess cranial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in hydrocephalus patients in which the current monitoring and flow rate control methods are time-consuming and inadequate for patient safety. A novel drainage system is needed to reduce clinical monitoring, increase patient safety, and improve quality of life. It is essential that the new device improve patient safety since excess draining of CSF commonly causes brain collapse and serious complications. Additionally, the new technology must automate the drainage process to free nurses from constant monitoring. By reducing constant nurse oversight, less patients will be admitted to the ICU, substantially decreasing hospital costs. Furthermore, the device should be able to acquire and transmit fluid data for data analysis. Lastly, the device should be relatively small, lightweight, and insensitive to patient movement for easy implementation in hospitals. Completion of the project is realized with a prototype that can control flow rate with digital input, monitor intracranial pressure, alert nurses of adverse drainage levels, and function independent of patient movement.