Catheter Articulation Control for Tool Passage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current catheter navigation systems face challenges in navigating tools through curved paths within the body without damaging internal surfaces, due to rigid tool tips causing impact and friction, which can prevent advancement and lead to tool removal issues.
Innovation Solution
A system with a catheter equipped with a position sensor, articulation mechanism using pull-wires, and proximity sensors, along with a computing device application that determines the necessary de-articulation to allow tool passage through curved regions, adjusts the catheter's articulation, and re-positions it for accurate alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid tool tip is used to navigate through the catheter, then the tool can maintain its structural integrity and perform procedures, but the rigid tip causes impact and friction on the inner surface of the catheter, preventing advancement and causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter articulation mechanism dynamically adjusts the curvature of the catheter body to accommodate the rigid tool tip during advancement. The pull-wire system allows the catheter to transition between different articulated states, creating space for the rigid tool to pass through without impacting the inner surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the articulation parameter of the catheter by adjusting the pull-wire tension. This parameter change allows the catheter to deform into configurations that facilitate tool passage while protecting the inner surface from damage caused by the rigid tool tip.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the catheter maintains extreme curvature to reach tortuous paths, then access to difficult-to-reach targets is enabled, but the curvature creates sufficient friction to prevent tool advancement and may cause tool removal
Solution Approach 1:
The articulation mechanism dynamically adjusts the catheter curvature based on the operational phase. During navigation, the catheter maintains extreme curvature to reach tortuous targets. During tool passage, the system dynamically reduces the curvature by adjusting pull-wire tension, thereby reducing friction and enabling smooth tool advancement.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary de-articulation before tool insertion and maintains this state during tool passage. This preliminary action of reducing curvature beforehand prevents friction-related problems during the critical tool advancement phase.
3Ease of operation
If the catheter is de-articulated to allow tool passage, then tool advancement is enabled, but the catheter must be re-articulated afterward to maintain accurate alignment with the target
Solution Approach 1:
The position sensor provides continuous feedback on the catheter tip location and orientation. This feedback enables the control system to monitor alignment status and guide the re-articulation process, ensuring the catheter returns to the precise alignment required for accurate target engagement after tool passage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system records the target alignment parameters before de-articulation. This preliminary recording of position and orientation data serves as a reference for the subsequent re-articulation process, enabling accurate restoration of the catheter alignment without requiring complex real-time adjustments.
Data Source
AI summary
A catheter system and method, the system including a catheter having a lumen, a position sensor, and at least one pull-wire to articulate the catheter, a tool including a metal tip at the distal end of the catheter, a proximity sensor associated with the catheter and configured to detect the presence of the tool proximate an articulation region on the target, and an articulation mechanism configured to apply pressure to the pull-wire to articulate and de-articulate the catheter. The method determining that the tool cannon pass through the articulation region based on the level of articulation of the catheter and the properties of the tool, de-articulating the catheter to allow the tool to pass through the articulation region and re-articulating the catheter to a position and orientation of the catheter prior to de-articulation.