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US 2002/0058901 A1Published application
Implantable subcutaneous value for the treatment of hydrocephalus, and adjusting devices therefor
OwnerBernard Marioninventor
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OwnerBernard Marioninventor
Estimating the term…
The invention relates to a subcutaneous valve having opening pressure that can be adjusted non-invasively from the outside, said valve comprising a body presenting a chamber with a cylindrical inside side wall, an inlet duct and an outlet duct for cerebospinal fluid both opening out in said side wall, a valve member such as a ball placed at the inside end of said inlet duct, a spring blade fitting closely to the side wall of said chamber and urging the valve member against its seat, and a moving member controlled from the outside and provided with means for locking it in a determined position, the length of the spring blade acting on the valve member being determined by the position of said moving member. The valve is remarkable in that said moving member is constituted by a resilient flexible arcuate blade fitting closely to the cylindrical inside wall of said chamber. The valve is applicable to the treatment of hydrocephalus.
1/ A subcutaneous valve for the treatment of hydrocephalus, said valve having an opening pressure that can be adjusted non-invasively from the outside, the valve comprising a valve body presenting an internal chamber having a cylindrical side wall, an inlet duct and an outlet duct for cerebospinal fluid, both ducts opening out in the side wall of said chamber and being suitable for connection respectively to an ventricular catheter and to a drainage catheter for said fluid, a valve member, such as ball, mounted on a seat at the inside end of said inlet duct, a curved spring blade fitting closely against the side wall of said chamber and urging the ball against its seat, a magnetic moving member movable in rotation about an axis X-X′ under control from outside the valve, and means for locking said moving member in a determined position, the length of the active portion of the spring blade acting on the valve member being determined by the position of said moving member, wherein said moving member is constituted by a resilient flexible arcuate blade fitting closely to the cylindrical inside wall of said chamber over at least a fraction of the circumference thereof, while exerting pressure thereon, said arcuate blade being shaped so as to avoid impeding the flow of fluid through said chamber into the outlet duct.
2/ A subcutaneous valve according to claim 1, wherein one of the ends of the spring blade is fixed to the cylindrical wall of said chamber, its other end being free, and wherein one of the ends of the arcuate blade can slide over the inside face of said spring blade, bearing thereagainst in order to exert pressure thereon.
3/ A subcutaneous valve according to claim 1, wherein one of the ends of the spring blade is fixed to one of the ends of the arcuate blade, the other end of the spring blade being free.
4/ A subcutaneous valve according to claim 1, wherein the arcuate blade has an opening for allowing the fluid that is inside the internal chamber to pass towards the outlet duct.
5/ A subcutaneous valve according to claim 1, wherein the spring blade occupies at least one-third of the inside circumference of said chamber.
6/ A subcutaneous valve according to claim 1, wherein the means for locking the moving member comprise at least two detents suitable for being received in at least two corresponding cavities, said detents being disposed diametrically opposite each other on the outside face of the arcuate blade and the corresponding cavities being formed in the inside side wall of said chamber, or vice versa.
7/ A subcutaneous valve according to claim 1, wherein the arcuate blade carries two micromagnets on its inside face, the micromagnets being fixed to respective ends of the arcuate blade on opposite sides of the vertical axis of rotation X-X′ and themselves being disposed vertically so that they have respective same-sign poles lying in a common plane and facing upwards.
8/ A subcutaneous valve according to claim 1, wherein the arcuate blade carries two micromagnets on its inside face, the micromagnets being fixed to respective ends of the arcuate blade on opposite sides of the vertical axis of rotation X-X′ and themselves being disposed vertically so that they have respective opposite-sign poles lying in a common plane and facing upwards.
9/ A magnetic device for externally adjusting the subcutaneous valve according to claim 7, the device comprising two magnets embedded in a resin disk and disposed in such a manner that their respective same-sign poles lie in a common plane and face downwards, being of opposite sign to the sign of the poles of the micromagnets of the arcuate blade.
10/ A magnetic device for externally adjusting the subcutaneous valve according to claim 8, the device comprising two magnets embedded in a resin disk and disposed in such a manner that their respective opposite-sign poles lie in a common plane and face downwards, being of opposite signs to the signs of the poles of the micromagnets of the arcuate blade.
11/ A device for externally identifying the position of the arcuate blade by using a compass having a non-magnetic needle.