Patent ID: 8012116

Claim:
A method of treating brain swelling comprising: opening the skull a patient of a patient who has suffered or is suspected of having suffered an injurious event sufficient to induce swelling of the brain; inserting an osmotic cell into a dural opening or under a dural flap onto a brain, said osmotic cell comprising: an osmotic cell body comprising an inner chamber for retaining a solution therein; a semi-permeable membrane for contacting the brain; an inflow port; and an outflow port; closing the scalp of the patient over the osmotic cell such that pressure from the scalp holds the osmotic cell in place; and flowing a solution having an osmolarity greater than that of fluid in the extracellular compartment of the brain through the inflow port, into the inner chamber, past the semi-permeable membrane and out of the inner chamber through the outflow port such that interstitial fluid from the brain proximal to the semi-permeable membrane osmotically flows across the membrane and into the inner chamber of the body.