The U.S. patent, titled Systems and Methods for Shunting Fluid, is expected to issue later this summer.
Hydrocephalus is a disorder in which an excess of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) accumulates in the ventricles and can increase the pressure in the brain creating a life threatening condition. CSF shunts are implantable devices inserted by neurosurgeons to treat hydrocephalus.
The youngest patients seem at highest risk of shunt failure, many requiring numerous revision surgeries by adolescence.
Alcyone's ReFlow™ System is a CSF shunt currently being used to treat patients in an institutional review board (IRB)-approved study at Boston Children's Hospital with Regulatory Application pending review by the FDA.
Alcyone's pending U.S. patent, like its ReFlow™ System, addresses one of the more frustrating problems with CSF shunts resulting in emergency intervention and revision surgery, namely obstructions of the ventricular catheter.
The patent describes a subcutaneous flushing system comprising a unique flow path and "flush dome" that enables the safe removal of obstructions, under at least some circumstances, without surgical intervention.
PJ Anand, Alcyone's Founder and chief executive officer stated, "It is so exciting to have the Patent Office agree that these aspects of our ReFlow™ System are unique and patentable. Alcyone designed and engineered the ReFlow™ System with the most vulnerable patients in mind.
“We along with our clinical collaborator set out to innovate an elegant and straightforward solution to a very real problem that these patients and their physicians face. We are grateful for this result from the Patent Office as intellectual property is a core piece of our long term plan to deliver this technology to as many patients in need as possible.
“ It is another milestone in Alcyone's quest to treat and improve neurological interventions and importantly, improve patients' lives."
Alcyone Lifesciences, based in Lowell, Massachusetts, is a privately-held medical device company focused on development of novel treatment modalities for chronic neurological conditions including brain tumors, neurogenetic disorders and hydrocephalus.
