Talaris Health

Hydrocephalus, a neurological condition that affects approximately 700,000 Americans over the age of 60, results from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) build-up in the brain ventricles. The current standard of care is implantation of a shunt in the brain, where a tube is inserted to drain CSF from the ventricles. However, these shunts malfunction in 32 percent of adult cases, which primarily manifests itself in gait disturbances. An unnoticed malfunctioning shunt may lead to brain damage, falls, and reduced lifespan. Regular checkups allow physicians to assess patients on gait parameters such as speed, endurance and balance and detect early warning signs of treatment failure. However, hydrocephalus patients often go several months to a year without check-ups – these patients would ideally be checked in on a more consistent manner. Due to limitations in resources, frequent in-person check-ups are not feasible. Our platform seeks to facilitate remote care management, allowing for continual interaction between the patient and physicians outside the clinic. The patient-facing mobile application processes data from built-in sensors regarding the phone’s orientation, acceleration, and rotation rate. Patients complete the same gait assessments performed in clinic, and our algorithms extract clinically relevant features from the data provided by the phone’s built-in sensors. Physicians are able to access a web-dashboard that provides HIPAA-secure patient data reporting and visualization, including longitudinal views of patient performance. From this, physicians will be able to recognize early warning signs of issues, and, in conjunction with their own analysis, make more informed decisions regarding patient treatments.