Robotic Vascular Access Cartridge Assembly for Precise Needle Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for vascular access, such as the Seldinger technique, are prone to human error, leading to complications like vessel perforation and hemorrhage, requiring skilled operators and lacking consistency.
Innovation Solution
A robotic system with a manipulation device and cartridge assembly that includes a needle, catheter, and guidewire, actuated by actuators and motors, facilitates precise vascular access by automating or semi-automating the Seldinger technique, guided by ultrasound imaging and sensor feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the Seldinger technique is performed manually by a surgeon or operator, then the procedure can be completed with existing equipment, but human errors lead to complications such as vessel perforation, pseudoaneurysm formation, hemorrhage, and infection
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system performs the vascular access procedure autonomously without requiring continuous human manipulation. The system self-navigates to the target vessel, self-advances the needle and guidewire, and self-positions the catheter based on ultrasound imaging feedback, eliminating human errors while maintaining procedural safety
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical manipulation by human operators with an automated robotic mechanical system. The robotic manipulator with multiple joints and actuators substitutes human hands and skills, providing consistent, precise control over needle insertion, guidewire advancement, and catheter placement without human variability
2Manufacturing precision
If a robotic system with multiple actuators and manipulation devices is used to automate the Seldinger technique, then consistency and precision are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system employs a nested structure where the needle is advanced through the catheter, the guidewire is advanced through the needle, and the catheter is advanced over the guidewire. The manipulation device itself is nested within the robotic arm structure, with multiple actuators nested within the cartridge assembly. This nesting reduces spatial requirements and simplifies the overall system architecture
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic manipulation device is designed to perform multiple functions: it can advance the needle, advance the guidewire through the needle, advance the catheter over the guidewire, and retract components as needed. The same manipulator and actuator system handles all vascular access instruments, eliminating the need for separate specialized devices for each step of the procedure
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for vascular access is described herein. The apparatus can comprise a manipulating device configured to releasably couple a cartridge including a needle, a catheter, and a guidewire that are coaxially disposed with respect to each other, and a robotic arm coupled to the manipulating device. The manipulation device or cartridge can include a plurality of actuation mechanisms configured to selectively advance the needle, the catheter, and the guidewire when the manipulating device is coupled to the cartridge. The robotic arm can include a plurality of joints that are configured to rotate about a plurality of axes to position the cartridge relative to the arm of the patient such that the needle, the catheter, and the guidewire can be inserted into a target vessel of the patient.