Shunt system including a flow control device for controlling the flow of cerebrospinal fluid out of a brain ventricle

A system for limiting the flow of a fluid from a first region of a patient's body to a second region, comprising:

• a housing having an inlet for receiving fluid from the first region and an outlet for directing fluid to the second region;
• one-way valve disposed within said housing;
• a subhousing disposed within said housing and downstream from said one-way valve, said subhousing having a spherical inner surface with a predetermined inner diameter, said subhousing having an inlet port and an outlet port, said inlet port and said outlet port are disposed approximately diametrically opposite from each other;
• and
• a spherical ball disposed within said subhousing, said spherical ball having a ferromagnetic weight disposed off center therein, said spherical ball having an outer diameter that is less than the inner diameter of said subhousing so that said spherical ball is free to rotate within said subhousing and the fluid is free to flow between said inner surface of said subhousing and an outer surface of said spherical ball, said spherical ball having a recess extending about the circumference of said spherical ball.