PhD Position – Biomedical Robotics in Hydrocephalus Research

The PhD position is part of an interdisciplinary research project at the intersection of robotics and biomedical engineering, conducted in close collaboration with neurosurgeons from the University Hospital Zurich, biomedical engineers and veterinarians from the University of Zurich, as well as international collaborators from Umeå University in Sweden and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US.

Hydrocephalus is a severe and common neurological disorder that occurs in many different forms from childhood to old age. Our research focuses primarily on normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) in elderly patients, which affects approximately 6% of people over the age of 80. The disorder presents with an enlargement of the brain ventricles, presumably due to a mismatch of secretion and resorption of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Patients exhibit symptoms such as mental impairment and gait disturbance. Hydrocephalus is usually treated by lifelong therapy with shunts that drain CSF from the brain ventricles into the abdomen. These conventional shunt systems are typically based on passive mechanical pressure valves.

To improve the therapy for hydrocephalus patients, we combine in silico and in vitro studies with animal experiments to gain a better quantitative understanding of the disorder and to develop intelligent mechatronic shunt systems.

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