Patent ID: 6241660
Filing Date: 2001-06-05
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
A method of determining a probable operating condition of a Central Nervous System (CNS) shunt, said method comprising:quantifying the nausea level for the patient;quantifying the headache level for the patient;quantifying the possible condition of the CNS shunt by conducting a physical examination of the shunt valve, connectors, and distal catheter of the shunt;quantifying the cognitive state of the patient by performing at least one test;quantifying the change in complaints for the patient when changing positions from one postural position to another; andprocessing the results of said quantified measurements by performing the following steps:determining the positional change value;estimating intracranial pressure by correlating a value to the results of said cognitive, headache, and nausea quantification;correlating at least one code for a CNS shunt condition to said possible condition of the CNS shunt; andcorrelating at least one code, corresponding to a shunt performance prediction, to said estimated intracranial pressure and said code for said CNS shunt condition.