Robotic Catheter Reduces Risk of Surgical Dissection or Embolization

Researchers at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (London, United Kingdom) and Imperial College London (ICL, United Kingdom) developed an enhance surgical procedure for treating aneurysms using fenestrated endografts placed using a remotely steerable, robotic endovascular catheter system; the procedures were conducted by a team of 15 surgeons, who placed a four-vessel fenestrated stent graft partially deployed within a computed tomography (CT)-reconstructed pulsatile thoraco-abdominal aneurysm silicon model.

The researchers found that the median procedure time for cannulation of all four vessels were reduced using the robotic system for each individual operator, regardless of the level of endovascular experience. In addition, the number of movements at the catheter tip required to complete each task during the procedure was significantly reduced, as a result of both the ability to change the shape of the robotic catheter tip rapidly, and due to an increased 3D control of the catheter tip. The study was published in the April 2010 issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery.

The researchers found that overall the preclinical results with the system showed a 90% decrease in catheter manipulations inside the aorta, when compared to the manual technique, which could potentially reduce the risk of emboli and other adverse events during vascular procedures. For the study, the researcher used the Sensei Robotic Catheter System, a product of Hansen Medical (Mountain View, CA, USA).

"Total procedure times and the number of catheter tip movements were significantly reduced for all operators regardless of their level of endovascular experience,” said study coauthor Celia Riga, M.D., of the department of biosurgery and surgical technology at ICL. "These results reflect the intuitive nature of this robotic catheter technology developed by Hansen Medical, which has the potential to improve overall procedural safety, whilst allowing more patients to be treated via a minimally invasive endovascular approach.”

The Sensei X Robotic Catheter System integrates advanced levels of catheter control with 3D visualization, a synergistic technology combination that uses anatomic data projected onto an on-screen map as a guide for surgeon hand motions, providing both accuracy and stability to the physician during catheter based electrophysiology (EP) procedures. The system is designed to work with the Artisan Extend Control Catheter, allowing physicians to place mapping catheters in hard-to-reach anatomical locations within the heart during the diagnostic phase of cardiac arrhythmia treatment.

The Sensei X platform also supports the IntelliSense fine force technology interface with tactile vibration, which measures the forces on the proximal end of the catheter; in addition, IntelliSense technology includes a tactile vibration feature so the user feels a measurement of the force through vibration of the integrated Instinctive Motion Controller (IMC).

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