Hydrocephalus iPad-App Based Intervention Study

Long term visuospatial and visuomotor functional deficits are common in pediatric patients with surgically treated hydrocephalus. The deficits are often mild/moderate at early school age although the gap may widen as the children grow older, leading to increasing adverse impact on school performance and academic achievement. The proposed study will generate initial pilot data for the usage of iPad application based therapy intervention for the treatment of cognitive deficits common to pediatric hydrocephalus. It will help determine the optimal intensity and duration of training protocol adapted for the study. In addition, the sensitivity of neuroimaging (DTI) in response to the therapy will be assessed and validated as a biomarker that reflects the neuroanatomical alterations underpinning the outcome changes. This study will generate the crucial data to support the design of future Phase III clinical trial with the long term goal as changing the current standard of care in order to prevent neurocognitive and sensorimotor deficits before the injury to neural circuitry becomes irreversible. The participants who meet the inclusion criteria and do not opt-out of participation will be called by a study coordinator to ensure eligibility and to schedule the initial assessment date. Participation in this study will include 8-10 study visits. These visits include 2 neuropsychological assessments, 2 MRI visits, and 6 weekly visits during intervention phase. MRI visit can be combined with the neuropsychological assessment visit if possible at both the pre- and post intervention time points.