Patent ID: 7544176

Claim:
An implant for addressing pressure within a first body region, said implant comprising: a conduit comprising a flow path and adapted to fluidly interconnect with the first body region; and a MEMS flow module associated with said flow path, wherein said MEMS flow module comprises: a first plate comprising a first flow port; a second plate comprising a second flow port, wherein said second plate is spaced from and structurally interconnected with said first plate; and a first flow-restricting structure extending from one of said first and second plates at least toward the other of said first and second plates, wherein a spacing between said first flow-restricting structure and the other of said first and second plates defines a first flow restriction, and wherein at least one dimension of said first flow restriction changes based upon at least one of said first and second plates flexing in response to a development of at least a certain differential pressure across said MEMS flow module; wherein said first plate comprises a first region and a second region that extends from said first region to a perimeter of said first plate, wherein said second plate comprises a third region and a fourth region that extends from said third region to a perimeter of said second plate, wherein said second region of said first plate comprises a plurality of said first flow ports, wherein said third region of said second plate comprises a plurality of said second flow ports, wherein a first link extends between said first and second plates and interfaces with said first plate within said first region and interfaces with said second plate within said third region, and wherein said fourth region of said second plate is at least substantially maintained in a fixed orientation.