Project Description: 

Ventriculoperitoneal shunts are used to drain cerebral spinal fluid buildup from the brain, which can cause a variety of other health issues. With VP shunts, the fluid is drained to the abdomen. In order to install the VP shunt, a surgeon must “tunnel” from the head to the abdomen to create the path by which the fluid will be drained. This part of the procedure can be very intense and require a lot of brute force to be applied to the patient. Decreasing the brutality of the tunneling process can make this procedure smoother and mitigate worries of adverse events.