Cercenelli Laura, Bortolani Barbara, Marcelli Emanuela
Laboratory of Bioengineering, Department of Experimental Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Appl Bionics Biomech. 2017;2017:2712453. doi: 10.1155/2017/2712453. Epub 2017 May 25.
Several remote catheter navigation systems have been developed and are now commercially available. However, these systems typically require specialized catheters or equipment, as well as time-consuming operations for the system set-up. In this paper, we present CathROB, a highly compact and versatile robotic system for remote navigation of standard tip-steerable electrophysiology (EP) catheters. Key features of CathROB include an extremely compact design that minimizes encumbrance and time for system set-up in a standard cath lab, a force-sensing mechanism, an intuitive command interface, and functions for automatic catheter navigation and repositioning. We report in vitro and in vivo animal evaluation of CathROB. In vitro results showed good accuracy in remote catheter navigation and automatic repositioning (1.5 ± 0.6 mm for the left-side targets, 1.7 ± 0.4 mm for the right-side targets). Adequate tissue contact was achieved with remote navigation in vivo. There were no adverse events, including absence of cardiac perforation or cardiac damage, indicative of the safety profile of CathROB. Although further preclinical and clinical studies are required, the presented CathROB system seems to be a promising solution for an affordable and easy-to-use remote catheter navigation.
已经开发出几种远程导管导航系统，并且现在已在市场上销售。然而，这些系统通常需要专用导管或设备，以及用于系统设置的耗时操作。在本文中，我们介绍了CathROB，这是一种用于标准尖端可操纵电生理（EP）导管远程导航的高度紧凑且通用的机器人系统。CathROB的关键特性包括极其紧凑的设计，可将标准导管实验室中的系统设置负担和时间减至最少、力传感机制、直观的命令界面以及自动导管导航和重新定位功能。我们报告了CathROB的体外和体内动物评估。体外结果显示远程导管导航和自动重新定位具有良好的准确性（左侧目标为1.5±0.6毫米，右侧目标为1.7±0.4毫米）。体内远程导航实现了足够的组织接触。没有不良事件发生，包括没有心脏穿孔或心脏损伤，这表明了CathROB的安全性。尽管需要进一步的临床前和临床研究，但所展示的CathROB系统似乎是一种经济实惠且易于使用的远程导管导航的有前景的解决方案。
