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Towards a Tendon-Driven Robotically Steerable Guidewire with a Retractable Distal Balloon.
C Cloud Barré1, Jaydev P Desai1
1Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Medical Robotics and Automation (RoboMed) Laboratory, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332 USA.
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
|August 20, 2025
Summary
A novel steerable guidewire features an integrated balloon to protect tissue during minimally invasive procedures. This innovation cushions, stabilizes, and can arrest blood flow, enhancing safety and efficacy in vascular interventions.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Medical Devices
- Minimally Invasive Surgery
Background:
- Minimally invasive endovascular and transcatheter procedures rely on guidewires for tool delivery.
- Existing steerable guidewires pose a risk of tissue damage during vascular navigation.
- Need for enhanced safety features to prevent complications like distal embolization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a methodology for integrating a balloon onto a tendon-driven robotically steerable guidewire.
- To cushion tissue contact, stabilize the guidewire, and arrest blood flow.
- To mitigate risks associated with guidewire use in vascular procedures.
Main Methods:
- Development of a tendon-driven robotically steerable guidewire with an integrated balloon.
- Modeling of fluid channel effects on joint curvature and hydraulic element inflation.
- Fabrication via injection molding and integration of a hydraulic pump for balloon actuation.
- Experimental verification of bending and inflation models.
- Testing in a phantom vasculature model under pulsatile flow.
Main Results:
- Successful integration of a balloon onto a steerable guidewire.
- Accurate experimental verification of bending and inflation models.
- Demonstrated guidewire traversal, balloon inflation, and blood flow arrest in a simulated vascular environment.
Conclusions:
- The developed steerable balloon guidewire system offers a promising solution for safer vascular interventions.
- The integrated balloon effectively cushions tissue, stabilizes the device, and can arrest blood flow.
- The methodology and models presented are validated for steerable balloon guidewire systems.
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