Development of a novel robot-assisted catheter system with force feedback

Manual operation of intracardiac steerable catheter is inaccurate, requires dexterity for efficient manipulation of the catheter, and exposes the surgeons to intense radiation. This paper presents a robot-assisted catheter manipulation system with force feedback, monitor and a master-slave tele-operation system. We developed the mechanical system and applied it in the slave side to guarantee the manipulation safety in intravascular neurosurgery applications. The force information can be obtained from the load cell. When the catheter contacted to the vascular, the surgeon can feel the force feedback and avoids the damage. The experiments indicate that the proposed force feedback robotic catheter system can work well and facilitate the manipulation, avoid potential damages.