The IRRAflow®system was built around the concept of active, controlled fluid exchange. As regularly employed during open surgery, the concept of active fluid exchange is based on the fact that it is faster to wash out any pathological extracellular fluid collection than to expect it to be removed by gravity alone.
Therefore, IRRAflow combines traditional gravity-driven drainage with periodic, controlled irrigation of the catheter tip to exchange any pathological fluid collection with neutral physiological fluids. This fluid movement by design, mechanically cleanses the catheters tip thus potentially facilitating disruption of clot and or bacteria (1,2). Furthermore, this fluid irrigation also helps to keep solid particulate in suspension, making it easier to subsequently drain.
1. Rajjoub K, Hess R M, O’Connor T E, et al. (May 22, 2021) Drainage, Irrigation, and Fibrinolytic Therapy (DRIFT) for Adult Intraventricular Hemorrhage Using IRRAflow® Self-Irrigating Catheter. Cureus 13(5): e15167. DOI 10.7759/cureus.15167
2. Brandmeir, Nicholas, et.al. Early Experience with Patient Treatment & Drug Delivery with IRRAflow; An Automatically Irrigating and Draining Ventricular Catheter. As presented at The Neurosurgical Society of the Virginias Annual Meeting in January 2022.
Irrigation
Drainage
