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BACKGROUND Postural changes are related to changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics. While sitting up leads to a decrease in cranial CSF pressure, it also causes shifts in the craniospinal CSF volume and compliance distribution. We hypothesized that jugular vein collapse in upright posture is a major contributor to these shifts in CSF volume and compliance. METHODS To test this hypothesis, we implemented a mathematical lumped-parameter model of the CSF system and the relevant parts of the cardiovascular system. In this model, the CSF and the venous system are each divided into a cranial and a spinal part. The pressures in these cranial and spinal portions differ by the posture-dependent hydrostatic pressure columns in the connecting vessels. Jugular collapse is represented by a reduction of the hydrostatic pressure difference between cranial and spinal veins. The CSF pressure-volume relationship is implemented as a function of the local CSF to venous pressure gradient. This implies that an increase in CSF volume leads to a simultaneous displacement of blood from adjacent veins. CSF pulsations driven by the cardiovascular system are introduced through a pulsating cranial arterial volume. RESULTS In upright posture, the implemented CSF pressure-volume relationship shifts to lower cranial CSF pressures compared to the horizontal position, leading to a decrease in cranial CSF pressure when sitting up. Concurrently, the compliance of the spinal compartment decreases while the one of the cranial compartment increases. With this, in upright posture only 10% of the CSF system's compliance is provided by the spinal compartment compared to 35% in horizontal posture. This reduction in spinal compliance is accompanied by a caudal shift of CSF volume. Also, the ability of the spinal CSF compartment to compensate for cerebral arterial volume pulsations reduces in upright posture, which in turn reduces the calculated craniospinal CSF flow pulsations. CONCLUSION The mathematic

GOAL The development of increasingly sophisticated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts calls for test beds that can reproduce an ever larger range of physiologic and pathophysiologic behaviors. In particular, upcoming smart and active devices will require extensive testing under complex dynamic conditions. Herein, we describe a test bed that allows for fast, cost effective, and realistic in vitro testing of active and passive, gravitational and nongravitational CSF shunts based on the hardware-in-the-loop principle. METHODS The shunt to be tested is placed in a dynamic in vitro setup that interfaces with a mathematical model of the patient's relevant physiology, which is evaluated numerically in real time. The model parameters can be identified using standard clinical tests. The test bed accounts for posture-dependent behavior and viscoelastic effects. RESULTS Simulations of infusion tests, of intracranial pressure modulation by cardiovascular action, and of the effects of postural changes show good agreement with published results. Evaluation of valves without and with gravitational units show in modeled sitting patients the expected behavior of overdrainage and avoidance thereof, respectively. Finally, a 24-h test cycle based on recorded patient data elucidates the interaction between patient and shunt system expressed by drainage rate and intracranial pressure during typical daily activities. CONCLUSION We envision this test bed as a tool to quantify a shunt's performance within a realistic yet reproducible testing environment. SIGNIFICANCE The test bed can improve our understanding of the complex interaction between patient and shunt system and may catalyze the development of active shunts, while reducing the number of necessary in vivo experiments.