Living With Healthy Hunger Health Blog
In news healthcare updates, a noninvasive skin sensor developed at Northwestern University could help millions of patients with hydrocephalus, a chronic neurological condition caused by excess fluid in the brain. The Band-Aid looking sensor was already successfully tested on five patients and researchers are getting ready to launch a larger pediatric clinical trial at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, in a significant move for Illinois healthcare news.
The current standard treatment involves the surgical implantation of a straw-like catheter called a shunt, which drains the excess fluid out of the brain. But shunts have proven to be both dangerous and ineffective. Shunts often get infected or blocked and have an almost 100 percent failure rate over 10 years.
In an effort to accelerate research into new treatment options for this chronic neurological condition, the Hydrocephalus Association launched earlier this year #NOMOREBS – No More Brain Surgeries.
The campaign aims to raise $20 million by 2020. “It is not uncommon for children living with hydrocephalus to have more brain surgeries than birthdays in their early years,” explained Diana Gray, CEO of the Hydrocephalus Association.
Northwestern researchers hope their device would bring down the number of brain surgeries by detecting shunt malfunctions in only five minutes. The sensor measures body temperature to tell if and how much fluid is flowing through a shunt.
“We envision you could do this while you’re sitting in the waiting room waiting to see the doctor,” said co-lead author Siddharth Krishnan, a fifth-year doctoral student in the Rogers Research Group at Northwestern.
The device looks similar to a Band-Aid and has a tiny rechargeable battery built into it. It’s also Bluetooth enabled, so it can send measurement readings via an Android app.
Researchers are planning to test it next on children at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. If the device ever makes it to the market, it could save the U.S. healthcare system up to a billion dollars a year.
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