The AHCRN will be able to close these knowledge gaps by collaborating across centers and combining data at a data coordinating center (DCC).

The AHCRN is comprised of 8 Clinical Centers located throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe as well as the the DCC located in at the University of Utah. By coordinating research across 8 centers, the AHCRN will be able to efficiently collect patient data, recruit patients for future clinical trials, and simultaneously run multiple clinical trials. Data vetting and analysis is then performed by the highly talented DCC staff which includes data coordinators, managers, and biostatisticians. Through this approach the AHCRN is able to obtain and disseminate high quality and high impact research.

By pooling information into one central registry, researchers are able to create an adequate sample size of patients to study clinical problems in adults with hydrocephalus. This centrally pooled data allows researchers to overcome the obstacles that have stymied previous research efforts for years: too few patients to study in any one hospital, uncoordinated research under different protocols, and under-staffed studies.