Soft robotic steerable micro-catheter for the endovascular treatment of cerebral disorders

Abstract

Catheters used for endovascular navigation in interventional procedures lack dexterity at the distal tip. Neurointerventionists, in particular, encounter challenges in up to 25% of aneurysm cases largely due to the inability to steer and navigate the tip of the micro-catheters through tortuous vasculature to access aneurysms. We overcome this problem with sub-millimeter diameter, hydraulically-actuated hyperelastic polymer devices at the distal tip of micro-catheters to enable active steerability. Controlled by hand, the devices offer complete 3D orientation of the tip. Using pressures up to 400 kPa (4 atm) we demonstrate guidewire-free navigation, access, and coil deployment in vivo, offering safety, ease of use, and design flexibility absent in other approaches to endovascular intervention. We demonstrate the ability of our device to navigate through vessels and to deliver embolization coils to the cerebral vessels in a live porcine model. This indicates the potential for microhydraulic soft robotics to solve difficult access and treatment problems in endovascular intervention.

Multifunctional Fiber‐Enabled Intelligent Health Agents

“…The smallest scale can be reduced to catheter size, and fluidic catheter‐based guidewire‐free access and coil deployment in vivo has been demonstrated. [ 113 ]…”

“…The smallest scale can be reduced to catheter size, and fluidic catheter-based guidewire-free access and coil deployment in vivo has been demonstrated. [113] In contrast to the abovementioned methods, the emerging magnetoactive actuation is untethered, remote, and fast (response frequency up to 100 Hz). Meanwhile, magnetic fields have been widely used in clinical settings, for instance, in magnetic resonance imaging.…”

Multicomponent and multifunctional integrated miniature soft robots

“…Medical catheter and guidewire technology place an important role in minimally invasive surgery which could reduce surgical risks and shorten recovery times. [160][161][162][163][164][165][166][167][168][169][170] The catheter-based interventions have a wide range of applications in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. 6,100,164 In addition to delivering the catheter to the designated location, a variety of challenging tasks need to be accomplished, such as monitoring physiological environment (electrophysiological parameters, temperature, and pressure, etc), applying electrical or thermal stimulation to soft tissue, delivering therapeutic drugs and cells, embolization and clot removal.…”

“…[160][161][162][163][164][165][166][167][168][169][170] The catheter-based interventions have a wide range of applications in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. 6,100,164 In addition to delivering the catheter to the designated location, a variety of challenging tasks need to be accomplished, such as monitoring physiological environment (electrophysiological parameters, temperature, and pressure, etc), applying electrical or thermal stimulation to soft tissue, delivering therapeutic drugs and cells, embolization and clot removal. Based on these requirements, a variety of functional components are integrated into the catheter structure, such as manipulator tools and soft sensors, which may impede the miniaturization of 45 Copyright 2019, Spring Nature.…”

Locomotion of Sensor‐Integrated Soft Robotic Devices Inside Sub‐Millimeter Arteries with Impaired Flow Conditions

“…Steering guidewires and endovascular devices using robotic actuation promise to improve the speed, safety, and efficacy of interventions. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Integration of electronic devices on endovascular instruments such as force, temperature, pressure, and flow sensors [25][26][27] facilitated the development of intelligent machines that are capable of navigating the cardiovascular system autonomously. [28] Sensor-integrated catheters have been miniaturized to millimeter [29][30][31][32] and even micrometer scale [33] using microengineering methods.…”