Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2026
Remote Magnetic Navigation for Accurate, Real-time Catheter Positioning and Ablation in Cardiac Electrophysiology Procedures
Published on: April 21, 2013
Autonomous catheter insertion system using magnetic motion capture sensor for endovascular surgery
C Tercero1, S Ikeda, T Uchiyama
1Department of Complex Systems Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. tercero@robo.mein.nagoya-u.ac.jp
Background:
In order to reduce fluoroscope usage in endovascular surgery, there is a need to develop autonomous catheter insertion systems.
Methods:
We propose a system for tracking the position and speed of a catheter using a magnetic motion capture sensor to provide feedback to a catheter-driving mechanism, to perform autonomous catheter insertion in major vasculature. Catheter insertion speed control and path reconstruction experiments were performed with the system inside a silicone model of major vasculature to simulate surgery.
Results:
The system controlled the catheter for speeds of 6.14 mm/s and reproduced a two-dimensional path inside the silicone blood vessel phantom with less than 7 mm of error.
Conclusions:
We found that error in speed control rises as a result of friction between the catheter and the model wall. Path reconstruction error depends on the model's cross-sectional diameter, the properties of the catheter insertion mechanism, the magnetic sensor and the system guidance technique.
