Analyzing drilling noise in rotational atherectomy: Improving safety and effectiveness through visualization and...

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Interventions
• Medical Device Acoustics
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Complex coronary artery diseases, including calcification, are increasing with aging populations.
• Rotational atherectomy (RA) is a key treatment for calcified lesions.
• Evaluating RA safety and effectiveness is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the utility of drilling noise during rotablation for evaluating RA safety and effectiveness.
• To identify unique acoustic signatures associated with normal operation and complications.

Main Methods:

• A human body model with calcified lesions was created.
• Rotational atherectomy was performed using 1.25 and 1.5 mm burrs at 180,000 rpm.
• Noise was recorded inside and outside the model, and analyzed using spectrograms and an autoencoder.

Main Results:

• Normal drilling noise was primarily in the 3000 Hz range.
• Burr entrapment caused a drop to 2000 Hz.
• Guidewire transection produced a distinct squealing sound.
• An autoencoder successfully reduced spectrogram data for anomaly detection.

Conclusions:

• Drilling noise analysis offers a promising method to enhance the evaluation of procedural safety and efficacy in rotational atherectomy.
• Acoustic monitoring can potentially provide real-time feedback on RA performance and detect complications.