Patient-Specific Magnetic Catheters for Atraumatic Autonomous Endoscopy

Area of Science:

• Medical Robotics
• Biomedical Engineering
• Minimally Invasive Surgery

Background:

• Minimally invasive techniques and flexible endoscopes are advancing, but precise "follow-the-leader" catheter navigation remains a challenge.
• Controlling catheters in tortuous anatomy without anatomical interaction often requires larger instruments.
• Multiple-point magnetic actuation offers a solution for dexterous, small-diameter catheters.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and manufacture a fully shape-forming, soft magnetic catheter capable of "follow-the-leader" navigation.
• To demonstrate the efficacy of this system for navigational bronchoscopy.
• To optimize magnetic interactions for anatomical adaptation during navigation.

Main Methods:

• A 2mm diameter, 80mm length soft magnetic catheter was designed and manufactured.
• Patient-specific scans informed optimization of magnetization profiles and actuating fields.
• A dual-robot arm system generated transient magnetic fields for navigation.
• Prototypes navigated a 3D bronchial tree phantom under robotic control.

Main Results:

• The "follow-the-leader" catheter achieved up to 50% more accurate tracking compared to state-of-the-art methods.
• Obstacle contact time was reduced by 50% during navigation.
• Targeting error was improved by 90% using optimally designed magnetic catheters.

Conclusions:

• The developed soft magnetic catheter enables precise "follow-the-leader" navigation in complex anatomies.
• This technology significantly enhances accuracy and safety in applications like navigational bronchoscopy.
• Magnetic actuation offers a promising approach to overcome limitations of current minimally invasive instruments.