New ultrasound method aims to make brain drain placement safer
NCT ID NCT06253858
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether using ultrasound to guide placement of a brain drain (external ventricular drain) in adults with hydrocephalus can improve accuracy and reduce the number of needle passes needed. Ten participants will have the drain placed with the SOLOPASS® ultrasound system, and researchers will measure how many attempts are needed and check placement on post-procedure scans. The goal is to see if this approach lowers risks like incorrect placement or drain malfunction.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 10 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2026
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Decision made to perform the procedure by the primary consultant * Age 18 or older * Neuro ICU stay * Newly diagnosed hydrocephalus * Has a recent CT within the past 24 hrs * Normal platelets and coagulation profile * No active infection or currently on antibiotics * The targeted fluid compartment has more than 50 percent CSF vs blood by CT scan imaging Exclusion Criteria: * Age \<18 * Not in Neuro ICU setting * Previous placement of a ventricular catheter * More than 50 percent of the fluid compartment is filled with blood by CT scan * Time to include in the trial prohibited by clinical personnel
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
RECRUITINGHershey, Pennsylvania, 17033, United States
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