Sensors and control for an interventional catheter

Dr. Friedrich Prinz and colleagues have developed and patented a force and position sensor for active catheters to improve control during interventional therapy. Interventional medicine is seeing a growing trend toward minimally invasive and catheter-based therapy, especially in cardiovascular and intracardiac procedures. Catheter-based surgeries can decrease hospitalization time and greatly lower patient morbidity compared to traditional open methods. However, catheter-based surgeries are hindered by an inability to precisely manipulate the catheter tip or “steer” the catheter. Development of a robotic or “active” catheter that can provide precise movement of the catheter tip has been sought. Attempts have been made but they are lacking as they do not have the means to incorporate sensory information to enable force feedback and precise control. To help overcome this limitation, the inventors have developed a resistance-based position sensor for active catheters to allow better tactile feedback to the physician and enable more accurate “steering” of the catheter.

Stage of Research:
The inventors have designed, fabricated and tested resistance-based shape memory alloy (SMA) sensors. The sensors exhibited excellent linearity over the operating range and are designed to be easily integrated onto an active catheter.