James Alexander Killeffer

Ventricular catheter development: Past, present, and future

Cerebrospinal fluid diversion via ventricular shunting is the prevailing contemporary treatment for hydrocephalus. The CSF shunt appeared in its current form in the 1950s, and modern CSF shunts are the result of 6 decades of significant progress in neurosurgery and biomedical engineering. However, despite revolutionary advances in material science, computational design optimization, manufacturing, and sensors, the ventricular catheter (VC) component of CSF shunts today remains largely unchanged in its functionality and capabilities from its original design, even though VC obstruction remains a primary cause of shunt failure. The objective of this paper is to investigate the history of VCs, including successful and failed alterations in mechanical design and material composition, to better understand the challenges that hinder development of a more effective design.

A computational fluid dynamics simulation framework for ventricular catheter design optimization

In this research an optimization methodology and 3D computational fluid dynamics algorithm were coupled to reach an important design objective for ventricular catheters: uniform inlet flow distribution. The optimized catheter design presented significantly improves on previous designs explored in the literature and on standard catheter designs used clinically. The automated, iterative fluid simulation framework described in this work can be used to rapidly explore design parameter influence on other flow-related objectives in the future.

8.10: Presentation session: Keynote speaker and brain injuries and neuro-regeneration panel: “Technological challenges in clinical neurosurgery”

This presentation describes several challenges in the clinical practice of neurosurgery that may be addressed by application of nanotechnology, multimodal data acquisition and analysis, computer modeling, and materials science. Conditions including hydrocephalus, traumatic brain injury, degenerative spine disease, peripheral nerve injury, and central nervous system disease are discussed. Examples of ongoing investigations and directions for future research are highlighted.