Robotic Multi-Catheter Assembly for Supra-Aortic Access
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current neurovascular procedures face challenges such as limited availability of trained interventionalists, complex setup requirements, and difficulties in achieving supra-aortic access, especially in Type III arches, which hinder the delivery of neurovascular care due to intricate catheter maneuvers and potential inadvertent motion.
Innovation Solution
A robotic control system with hubs for guidewire, guide catheter, and access catheter, allowing for independent axial and rotational adjustments, lateral deflection, and magnetic coupling, enabling precise robotic placement and manipulation of procedure catheters for neurovascular procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual catheter manipulation is used, then surgeon dexterity and control are required, but the complexity of setup and procedural time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical manipulation of catheters with a robotic system that uses magnetic fields to drive catheter movement. The robotic system includes magnets positioned near the patient's body that interact with magnets or ferromagnetic materials embedded in the catheters, enabling automated advancement, retraction, and positioning without direct manual handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces magnetic fields as an intermediary between the robotic control system and the catheters. The magnetic field serves as a non-contact mediator that transmits force and positional information to the catheters, enabling precise control while maintaining sterile barriers and reducing mechanical complexity at the patient interface.
2Reliability
If supra-aortic access is achieved manually, then complex catheter maneuvers are required, but the difficulty and risk of inadvertent motion increase
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system replaces manual catheter maneuvering with magnetic field-driven automation. The system can precisely control catheter position and orientation through magnetic actuation, reducing the skill threshold and minimizing inadvertent motions that occur with manual manipulation. The automated system maintains steady, controlled movements without the frictional interplay between coaxial shafts and vasculature.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates imaging guidance (such as fluoroscopy or other visualization systems) that provides real-time feedback on catheter position. This feedback is integrated with the robotic control system to enable closed-loop control, ensuring accurate navigation to supra-aortic access points and allowing the system to adjust for anatomical variations and maintain precise positioning.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple catheters are used for neurovascular procedures, then procedural capability is enhanced, but the complexity of coordination and control increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system employs a universal control architecture that can manage multiple catheters simultaneously through a single integrated platform. The system includes multiple magnets or magnetic actuators that can independently control different catheters while sharing common control software, imaging integration, and safety protocols. This universal approach allows the same system to perform various neurovascular procedures using different catheter configurations without requiring separate specialized systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates efficient and precise robotic control of multiple catheters for neurovascular procedures, enhancing accessibility and reducing procedural time by enabling supra-aortic access and distal device advancement.
Implementation Method 1
The driven magnet on each of a guidewire hub, an access catheter hub and a guide catheter hub is configured to cooperate with corresponding drive magnets such that the driven magnet moves in response to movement of the corresponding drive magnet
Data Source
AI summary
A method of achieving supra aortic access includes the steps of providing an assembly including a guidewire, an access catheter and a guide catheter, coaxially moveably assembled into a single multi-catheter assembly, coupling the assembly to a drive system, driving the assembly to an aortic arch, and advancing the access catheter to achieve supra-aortic access to a branch vessel off of the aortic arch.