Endovascular cerebrospinal fluid shunt

Abstract

An implantable shunt device for draining cerebrospinal fluid from a patient's subarachnoid space. The device includes a shunt having opposed first and second ends. A one-way valve is located at the first end of the shunt. A helical tip is disposed at the second end. The helical tip is constructed to penetrate a sinus wall of the patient. Upon implantation, a hollow passageway extends between the helical tip and one-way valve such that fluid can be drained through the helical tip and out through the valve. The endovascular cerebrospinal fluid shunt of the present invention can be placed into a patient percutaneously via a catheter inserted into the venous system of the body through a needle hole, without the need for open surgery and the skin incisions required with current shunt devices. The device also allows for more physiologic drainage of cerebrospinal fluid since the device is shunting cerebrospinal fluid into the same cerebral venous system that occurs naturally in normal people.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to an endovascular shunt implantable into the wall of a patient's sigmoid sinus, and more particularly, to a shunt capable of draining cerebrospinal fluid from the patient's subarachnoid space to the venous system.[0003]2. Description of the Related Art[0004]It is known to treat hydrocephalus by draining cerebrospinal fluid (CFS) from the brain with a drain tube, catheter or shunt. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,385,541 and 4,950,232. These known devices are complex and invasive. The risk for infection is also increased due to the complexity of these devices.[0005]The known shunts are limited to areas of placement due to fluid flow control. Moreover, the known shunts and methods of placements do not work in conjunction with a body's natural disease control processes. Accordingly, in recent years exploration of placement of a catheter or shunt in the venous sinus of a patient has been explored. See U....

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]The endovascular cerebrospinal fluid shunt of the present invention is an improvement over the standard cerebrospinal fluid shunts because it can be placed into a patient percutaneously via a catheter inserted into the venous system of the body through a needle hole, without the need for open surgery and the skin incisions required with current shunt devices. In some patients, the device can be inserted without general anesthesia, which is not possible with current cerebrospinal fluid shunts. The device also will allow for more physiologic drainage of cerebrospinal fluid since the device is shunting cerebrospinal fluid into the same cerebral venous system that occurs naturally in normal people.

[0011]One aspect of the present invention is to provide an implantable shunt device for draining fluid from a patient's subarachnoid space. The device includes a shunt having opposed first and second ends. A one-way valve is located at the first end of the shunt and a helical tip is disposed at the second end. The helical tip penetrates the sigmoid sinus wall of the patient and a hollow passageway extending between the helical tip and the CSF cistern allows the CSF to be drained through the helical tip and out through the valve.

Problems solved by technology

In some patients, the device can be inserted without general anesthesia, which is not possible with current cerebrospinal fluid shunts.

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