Estimation of ventricular volume changes for hydrocephalus treatment

Abstract

Hydrocephalus is a medical condition that is treated by draining excessive cerebrospinal fluid out of the brain’s ventricles using a shunt system. While direct control of ventricular volume is aspired, monitoring and treatment of hydrocephalus still mainly rely on measurements of intracranial pressure. To address this challenge, we introduce a method to estimate ventricular volume changes with a Kalman Filter based on intracranial pressure and bioimpedance measurements. High accuracy during in-vitro validation on a mechatronic testbench demonstrates the method’s potential as a new sensor technology for monitoring hydrocephalus patients and controlling shunt drainage.