Systems, devices, and methods including infection-fighting and monitoring shunts

• US 8,216,173 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2010
• Issued: 07/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gearbox LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Dacey, Ralph G. Jr., Hyde, Roderick A., Ishikawa, Muriel Y., Kare, Jordin T., Leuthardt, Eric C., Myhrvold, Nathan P., Rivet, Dennis J., Smith, Michael A., Sweeney, Elizabeth A., Tegreene, Clarence T., Wood, Lowell L. Jr., Wood, Victoria Y. H.
• Primary Examiner(s): DEAK, LESLIE R
• Application Number:
  US12/800,766
• Publication Number:
  US 20100241049A1
• Time in Patent Office: 781 Days
• Field of Search: 604/8, 604/9, 604/264, 604/6.08, 600/9
• US Class Current: 604/8
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/20 using laser
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0084 for introduction into the body, e.g. by catheters A61B5/1459 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/053 Measuring electrical impedance or conductance of a portion of the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/145 Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration, pH value; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid, cerebral tissuemeasuring of blood pressure or blood flow A61B5/02; non-radiation detecting or locating of foreign bodies in blood A61B5/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14503 invasive, e.g. introduced into the body by a catheter or needle or using implanted sensors A61B5/1459, A61B5/1464, A61B5/1473, A61B5/1482, A61B5/14865 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14539 for measuring pH
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14546 for measuring analytes not otherwise provided for, e.g. ions, cytochromes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1459 invasive, e.g. introduced into the body by a catheter A61B5/1464 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1473 invasive, e.g. introduced into the body by a catheter A61B5/1482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/412 Detecting or monitoring sepsis
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/0011 using physical methods
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/08 Radiation
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/14 Plasma, i.e. ionised gases
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2202/24 Medical instruments, e.g. endoscopes, catheters, sharps
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 27/006 Cerebrospinal drainage; Accessories therefor, e.g. valves
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/14276 specially adapted for implantation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/205 for promoting a biological process
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37252 Details of algorithms or data aspects of communication system, e.g. handshaking, transmitting specific data or segmenting data
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3785 generated by biological activity or substance, e.g. body movement
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3787 : from an external energy source
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/40 : Applying electric fields by inductive or capacitive coupling microwave apparatus A61N5/00; Applying radio-frequency signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/403 : for thermotherapy, e.g. hyperthermia
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/0651 : Diodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/0652 : Arrays of diodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/0661 : ultraviolet
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/02 : using microwaves
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/0601 : Apparatus for use inside the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/0624 : for eliminating microbes, germs, bacteria on or in the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/10 : X-ray therapy; Gamma-ray therapy; Particle-irradiation therapy A61N5/01 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 7/00 : Ultrasound therapy lithotripsy A61B17/22, A61B17/225; massage using supersonic vibration A61H23/00 ; using ultrasound for introducing media into the body A61M37/0092

Abstract

Systems, devices, methods, and compositions are described for providing an actively controllable shunt configured to, for example, monitor, treat, or prevent an infection.

Claims

1. An indwelling shunt apparatus, comprising:

a body structure having an outer surface and an inner surface defining one or more fluid-flow passageways configured to receive a cerebrospinal fluid of a biological subject, the body structure having a plurality of actuatable regions that are independently actuatable between at least a first transmissive state and a second transmissive state;

a sensor component including one or more sensors configured to detect at least one characteristic associated with a biological sample proximate at least one of the outer surface and the inner surface of the body structure; and

one or more energy emitters configured to emit an energy stimulus based at least in part on at least one detected characteristic associated with the biological sample;

wherein at least one of the plurality of actuatable regions is controllably actuatable between an optically transparent state and an optically reflective state.

2. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of actuatable regions is energetically actuatable between an optically transparent state and an optically reflective state.

3. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of actuatable regions includes one or more actively controllable reflective or transmissive components.

4. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of actuatable regions is actively controllable between a transmissive state and a reflective state.

5. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of actuatable regions is actively controllable between a transmissive state and a less transmissive state.

6. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of actuatable regions is configured to outwardly transmit or internally reflect an energy stimulus propagated through at least one of the one or more fluid-flow passageways.

7. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component is configured to detect at least one of a characteristic of a cerebrospinal fluid received within one or more fluid-flow passageways, a characteristic of a tissue proximate the one or more fluid-flow passageways, and a physiological characteristic of the biological subject.

8. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, further comprising;

a controller operably coupled to at least one of the plurality of actuatable regions, the controller configured to cause an outward-transmission or internal-reflection of an energy stimulus propagated through at least one of the one or more fluid-flow passageways based on detected information from the sensor component.

9. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes one or more electrochemical transducers, photochemical transducer, optical transducers, piezoelectrical transducers, or thermal transducers.

10. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes one or more thermal detectors, photovoltaic detectors, or photomultiplier detectors.

11. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes one or more charge coupled devices, complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor devices, photodiode image sensor devices, whispering gallery mode micro cavity devices, or scintillation detector devices.

12. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes one or more ultrasonic transducers.

13. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes one or more density sensors.

14. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more density sensors include one or more optical density sensors.

15. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more density sensors include one or more refractive index sensors.

16. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more refractive index sensors include one or more fiber optic refractive index sensors.

17. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes one or more surface plasmon resonance sensors.

18. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes one or more localized surface plasmon resonance sensors.

19. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes a light transmissive support and a reflective metal layer.

20. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes one or more acoustic biosensors, amperometric biosensors, calorimetric biosensors, optical biosensors, or potentiometric biosensors.

21. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes one or more fluid flow sensors.

22. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes one or more differential electrodes.

23. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes one or more biological mass sensors.

24. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes one or more immuno sensors.

25. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes one or more functionalized cantilevers.

26. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes a biological molecule capture layer.

27. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes biological molecule capture layer having an array of different binding molecules that specifically bind one or more target molecules.

28. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor component includes a spectrometer.

29. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more sensors is configured to detect a fluorescence associated with an autofluorescent material of biological sample proximate at least one of the outer surface and the inner surface of the body structure.

30. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more sensors is configured to detect at least one of an emitted energy and a remitted energy, and to generate a response based on the detected at least one of the emitted energy or the remitted energy.

31. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one characteristic associated with the biological sample includes at least one of an autofluorescence, an immunofluorescence, or an indirect immunofluorescence.

32. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more optical materials on at least a portion of a body structure to internally reflect at least a portion of an emitted energy stimulus from the one or more energy emitters into an interior of at least one of the one or more fluid-flow passageways.

33. The indwelling shunt apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indwelling shunt is operatively couple to one or more remote sensors.