Motorized Catheter Handle Steering and Haptic Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current catheter control mechanisms lack precise and intuitive steering capabilities, particularly in minimally invasive procedures, as they often require manual dexterity and do not provide adequate feedback to medical professionals about the catheter's position and interaction with vascular tissues.
Innovation Solution
A catheter manipulation handle with motorized precision steering and augmented feedback systems, including haptic, audible, and visual cues, that allows for customizable user interfaces and memory recall of complex catheter movements, enhancing user control and safety during procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual catheter control mechanisms are used, then device complexity is reduced, but steering precision and control accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical catheter control with an automated robotic system that uses electromechanical actuators and control algorithms to achieve precise steering. The robotic catheter control system substitutes human manual manipulation with automated mechanical systems, thereby improving steering precision while managing device complexity through systematic design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs control wires that replicate the steering motions applied at the handle to the catheter tip. This copying mechanism allows precise transmission of control inputs from the operator to the distal end of the catheter, maintaining steering accuracy while using a relatively simple mechanical transmission system.
2Loss of information
If manual catheter control mechanisms are used, then device complexity is reduced, but feedback capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms that provide real-time information to the operator about catheter position and steering status. This includes visual feedback through imaging systems and tactile feedback through force feedback mechanisms, allowing the operator to sense catheter-tissue interactions and adjust control accordingly, thereby reducing information loss about catheter state.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses mechanical vibration and haptic feedback mechanisms to convey information about catheter position and tissue contact to the operator through the handle. This tactile feedback system allows operators to感知 catheter-tissue interactions through vibration patterns, providing intuitive feedback without requiring complex visual displays.
3Measurement precision
If motorized precision steering is implemented, then steering precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a hybrid control system where the robotic system can autonomously perform steering tasks based on pre-programmed paths or real-time imaging guidance, while still allowing manual override. This self-service capability reduces the operational burden on the operator while maintaining precision, as the system can independently manage complex steering maneuvers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a dynamic control system that adapts the level of automation based on procedural needs. The system can switch between fully manual control, semi-automated assistance, and fully automated steering, allowing operators to choose the appropriate mode for each situation, thereby maintaining ease of operation while achieving high precision when needed.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and associated methods relate to a catheter manipulation handle with user interface controls for steering a catheter in situ while providing an augmented (e.g., motorized, powered and tunable precision steering, and perforation safeguards) control and feedback user experience. In an illustrative example, the catheter manipulation handle may provide motor assisted operation to automatically rotate and/or deflect a distal tip of the catheter to steer and guide the distal tip to a target location in the patient's vasculature system. The augmented feedback may include, for example, haptic feedback via the handle. Haptic, audible, and/or visual feedback via the handle may indicate, for example, proximity or engagement of the distal tip with sensitive tissue. In some examples, the handle's augmented operation may advantageously amplify feedback signals to enhance the user's perception of the patient's safety with respect to the safe passage of the distal tip through the patient's vasculature.