The Development of Tiny Wireless Brain Sensor w/ University of Auckland Senior Research Fellow Dr Sarah-Jane Guild: 22nd June, 2026

One hundred Kiwi kids are diagnosed with a life-threatening condition called Hydrocephalus yearly. Hydrocephalus is a condition where the brain gets an abnormal amount of fluid buildup, which causes harmful pressure on brain tissues.  

The current standard treatment for it is a shunt implantation, which is a tiny silicon tube that gets inserted into the brain to drain any excess fluid into other parts of the body harmlessly.

However, these shunts have the tendency to get blocked about fifty percent of the time. And if they don’t get replaced in time the raised pressure in the brain could cause huge damage and even death. The major problem is that symptoms of a failed shunt are very common and are hard to interpret. 

To fix this, researchers have been developing an implantable wireless brain sensor, which will be able to read brain pressure wirelessly and safely at home. 

To learn more about this new technology and how it will work in the future. Producer Jude spoke to University of Auckland Senior Research Fellow Dr Sarah-Jane Guild.