3D MRI-based predictive control of a ferromagnetic microrobot navigating in blood vessels

This paper presents an endovascular navigation of a ferromagnetic microdevice using a MRI-based predictive control. The concept was studied for future development of microrobot designed to perform minimally invasive interventions in remote sites accessible through the human cardiovascular system. A system software architecture is presented illustrating the different software modules to allow 3D navigation of a microdevice in blood vessels, namely: (i) vessel path extraction, (ii) magnetic gradient steering, (iii) tracking and (iv) closed-loop navigation control. First, the navigation path of the microrobot into the blood vessel is extracted using Fast Marching Method (FMM) from the pre-operation images (3D MRI imaging) to guide the microrobot from the injection point to the tumor area through the anarchic vessel network. Based on the pre-computed path, a Model Predictive Controller (MPC) is proposed for robust navigation along a 3D path. The simulation results suggest the validation of the proposed image processing and control algorithms.