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VasculaSure: Optimizing the treatment and prevention of cerebral vasospasm
- Program: Biomedical Engineering
- Course: EN.580.X12 BME Design Team
- Year: 2025
Project Description:
When an aneurysm ruptures, blood begins to build up in the space between the brain and the skull. After surgeons operate to stop the bleeding, patients face 2-3 weeks of recovery in the ICU. During this period, patients risk developing vasospasm—the spontaneous narrowing of cerebral blood vessels caused by inflammation and tissue damage—which can cut off blood flow to the brain (Mascia, 2009). The resulting damage can lead to long-term disability or even death (Shah, 2023). VasculaSure is a drug delivery system that continuously releases a vasodilating agent directly into the ventricles of the brain over the course of three weeks. Once released into the cerebrospinal fluid, the vasodilator circulates around the brain and exerts therapeutic effects on blood vessels in spasm, restoring healthy blood flow to brain tissue.
Project Photo:
The shown image illustrates VasculaSure’s access point, where a vasodilatory agent is delivered directly into the ventricles of the brain and is circulated by cerebrospinal fluid to emerging sites of vasospasm where it acts to keep blood vessels dilated.
