Home Diseases and Conditions Hydrocephalus 

Hydrocephalus 

Last Updated:
Development Stage

Early Stage

Focused ultrasound research is in the laboratory phase and is not yet available for patients.

Clinical Trials

Focused ultrasound for this condition is being researched in clinical trials.

International Approval

Focused ultrasound is approved to treat this condition outside the US. Patients can seek commercial treatment at participating international sites.

FDA Approved

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved focus ultrasound for this condition. Patients can seek commercial treatment at participating sites.

Early Stage

Clinical Trials

International

FDA Approved

Focused ultrasound research for this condition is in the laboratory phase and is not yet available for patients.

Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with hydrocephalus. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the brain without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces precise ablation (thermal destruction of tissue) that creates one or more openings. These openings allow the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that is contained in the cavity to pass through the holes, resulting the CSF to circulate and be reabsorbed by the arachnoid villi. While early results are promising, there is still much to be done before this technology will be available clinically.

Advantages
The primary options for treatment of hydrocephalus includes invasive surgery.

For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a noninvasive alternative to surgery. It is noninvasive, so it does not carry added concerns like surgical wound healing or infection. Focused ultrasound can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue, and it can be repeated, if necessary.

Clinical Trials

At the present time, there are no clinical trials recruiting patients for focused treatment of hydrocephalus.

The Foundation updates these pages regularly, but with the increasing number of clinical trials, we want to be sure that our audience has the latest information available. Therefore, we also added the website search information for the above trials. If you click here, it will take you to the latest information available from https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/. 

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement

Focused ultrasound treatment for hydrocephalus is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.

Notable Papers

Gomez-Gonzalez E, Munoz-Gonzalez FJ, Barriga-Rivera A, Perales-Esteve MA, Guerrero-Claro M, Fernandez-Lizaranzu I, Requena-Lancharro D, Rosales-Martinez M, Marquez-Rivas J. Contactless Ultrasonic Cavitation for the Prevention of Shunt Obstruction in Hydrocephalus: A Proof-of-Concept Study. Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown). 2022 Nov 1;23(5):420-426. doi: 10.1227/ons.0000000000000372. Epub 2022 Sep 19.

Yang AI, Chaibainou H, Wang S, Hitti FL, McShane BJ, Tilden D, Korn M, Blanke A, Dayan M, Wolf RL, Baltuch GH. Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy for Essential Tremor in the Setting of a Ventricular Shunt: Technical Report. Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown). 2019 Oct 1;17(4):376-381. doi: 10.1093/ons/opz013.

Alkins R, Huang Y, Pajek D, Hynynen K. Cavitation-based third ventriculostomy using MRI-guided focused ultrasound. J Neurosurg. 2013 Dec;119(6):1520-9

Click here for additional references from PubMed.