Existing commercial catheters are manually controlled and can only move in two directions. These catheters require doctors to painstakingly manipulate the catheter to control exactly where each individual lesion should be applied.
But the robotic catheter developed by Buckner's team significantly reduce operating times, utilizing "smart materials" to provide significantly better maneuverability. The smart materials act as internal muscles, contracting when an electric current is applied. This allows the catheter to bend left, right, up, down or any combination of those directions. Furthermore, doctors can use a specialized joystick to locate key points on the atrium. A computer program can then trace a curve along those points – essentially connecting the dots – creating a solid line of scar tissue that will block the electric signals causing fibrillation.
"If we can reduce the duration of the procedure, it will simultaneously reduce radiation exposure for the patient and medical personnel," Buckner says. "It will also provide cost savings for hospitals and health insurance companies."
The researchers received a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Health in August to take their "robotic catheter" prototype from the lab and put it into the hands of doctors. The $1.1 million grant will fund two years of development and surgical testing. Approximately half of these funds will go to NC State, while the remainder will go to Southeast TechInventures, which will help bring the technology to the marketplace.
Other members of Buckner's research team include Dr. Bruce Keene and Dr. Guillaume Chanoit of NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Salim Idriss, a pediatric electrophysiologist at Duke University Medical Center. Surgical evaluations of their robotic catheter prototypes will begin in 2011.
Other groups have commercialized their own robotic catheter designs, but these require multi-million dollar capital investments and customized catheter laboratories. Buckner's technology could be made available at a fraction of the cost to a larger number of patients due to significant reductions in initial overhead and operational costs, as well as logistical concerns.
NC State's Dr. Greg Buckner has developed a robotic catheter that is significantly more maneuverable than existing devices, which could lead to reduced operating times for patients undergoing heart surgery for atrial fibrillation.
(Photo Credit: Dr. Greg Buckner, North Carolina State University)
The robotic catheter developed by Buckners team utilizes smart materials that act as internal muscles, contracting when an electric current is applied. This allows the catheter to bend left, right, up, down or any combination of those directions.
(Photo Credit: Dr. Greg Buckner, North Carolina State University)
Source: North Carolina State University