Accessing the subarachnoid space via intrathecal needle placement can be done in nonhuman primates (NHPs) and other species to collect cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) or to deliver agents into the CSF.

On Fridays and some Tuesdays, neurosurgeons in Kuopio place ventriculo-peritoneal shunts. During the procedure, they collect biopsies of skin, fat, muscle, right frontal cortex, intraventricular CSF.