Towards a Procedure Optimised Steerable Microcatheter for Neurosurgical Laser Ablation

EasyChair Preprint no. 10839

Abstract

 This paper presents the development of a steerable microcatheter for neurosurgical laser ablation. Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has grown significantly over the last two decades due to its benefits to surgical outcomes. However, the limitations of current tools, such as straight catheters, have led to the development of a robotic steerable needle system for improved precision and accuracy. The EDEN2020 robotic ecosystem employs a Programmable Bevel-tip Needle (PBN) with a multi-lumen design to embed sensing and drug delivery conduits for CED. This research presents a new manufacturing method for PBNs that employs thermal drawing technology with less material and lower cost. Our efforts to date have resulted in a 1.3 mm outer diameter PBN, demonstrating a 50% reduction in size but with equivalent performance to our most successful prototypes to date.

Keyphrases: Additive Manufacturing, Catheter Design, Neurosurgery, soft robotic, Thermal Drawing

@Booklet{EasyChair:10839,
  author = {Ayhan Aktas and Ali Anil Demircali and Riccardo Secoli and Burak Temelkuran and Ferdinando M Rodriguez Y Baena},
  title = {Towards a Procedure Optimised Steerable Microcatheter for Neurosurgical Laser Ablation},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint no. 10839},

  year = {EasyChair, 2023}}