Design and experimental evaluation of an automated catheter operating system

Area of Science:

• Medical Robotics
• Interventional Cardiology
• Surgical Navigation

Background:

• Manual catheter-based interventions (CBIs) pose risks to interventionalists due to X-ray exposure and are limited by operator expertise and fatigue.
• Existing robot-assisted catheterization systems (RACS) have drawbacks including instrument specificity, lack of portability, and limited operational modes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an improved RACS, named Althea II, addressing the shortcomings of previous systems and enhancing efficiency and safety in CBIs.
• To create a versatile and user-friendly system for both research and clinical applications, including cardiovascular interventions.

Main Methods:

• Development of Althea II with a novel, lightweight structural design for broader instrument compatibility.
• Integration of a tip detection algorithm into the graphical user interface (GUI) for image-based and fully automatic navigation.
• Evaluation of system performance, including accuracy, precision, assembly time, and user-friendliness.

Main Results:

• Althea II achieved over 90% accuracy in navigating the catheter tip to a target in both velocity and positioning modes.
• The integrated tip detection algorithm in the upgraded GUI demonstrated an accuracy of 0.05 mm.
• Assembly time was reduced fivefold to 20 minutes, and the system offers multiple operation modes, portability, and remote functionality.

Conclusions:

• Althea II represents a significant advancement in RACS, offering improved accuracy, precision, and reduced X-ray exposure in catheter-based interventions.
• The system's design, including its independency from specific catheters and enhanced GUI, makes it suitable for beginners and various clinical applications.
• Preliminary studies confirm Althea II's accuracy, repeatability, feasibility, and superior setup capabilities compared to existing RACS.