A hydro-elastic model of hydrocephalus

Abstract

We combine elements of poroelasticity and of fluid mechanics to construct a mathematical model of the human brain and ventricular system. The model is used to study hydrocephalus, a pathological condition in which the normal flow of the cerebrospinal fluid is disturbed, causing the brain to become deformed. Our model extends recent work in this area by including flow through the aqueduct, by incorporating boundary conditions which we believe more accurately represent the anatomy of the brain and by including time dependence. This enables us to construct a quantitative model of the onset, development and treatment of this condition. We formulate and solve the governing equations and boundary conditions for this model and give results which are relevant to clinical observations.