Medical Design Briefs - July 2022 - 38

They have since affixed the magnet to
the end of a medical-grade robotic arm,
which can be steered using a small joystick
knob on a mouse. By tilting the joystick, researchers
can tilt the magnet in an orientation
that a magnetic wire can follow. Buttons
on the mouse control a set of motorized
linear drives, which advance and retract
the wire to make it move forward and back.
The wire is as thin and flexible as a
conventional neurovascular guidewire,
with a soft, magnetically responsive tip
that follows and bends in the direction
of a magnetic field.
n Finding a Path
The team tested the robotic system in
MGH's Catheter Lab - an operating
room with standard medical imaging
equipment used in endovascular procedures.
The researchers installed the robotic
arm in the lab, along with a life-sized silicone
model of blood vessels. They set the
joystick, along with a monitor displaying a
live video of the model, in a control room.
From there, an operator watched the video
while using the joystick to remotely
steer the wire through the vessels.
The team trained a group of neurosurgeons
to use the robotic system. After
just one hour of training, each surgeon
was able to successfully operate the system
to guide the wire through complex
vessels that are difficult to navigate with
a manual guidewire.
The team also used the robotic system
to clear simulated clots in difficult- toreach
areas in the model. They steered
the
guidewire
through
vessels,
and
around sharp corners and turns, to reach
regions where the researchers simulated
clots. Once they guided the wire to the
clot, the surgeons proceeded with standard
endovascular methods to thread a
microcatheter along the wire to the site of
the clot. They retracted the wire, leaving
the catheter, which they then applied to
successfully remove the clot.
" The primary purpose of the magnetic
guidewire is to get to the target location
quickly and safely, so that standard devices
like microcatheters can be used to deliver
therapeutics, " Kim says. " Our system
is like a pathfinder. "
He hopes that the teleoperated system
can help more patients receive timecritical
treatment. He also sees benefits
for surgeons, who typically perform such
vascular procedures in the same room as
the patient, while being exposed to radiation
from x-ray imaging.
" The neurosurgeons can operate the
robot in another room or even in another
city without repeated exposure to
x-rays, " Zhao says. " We are truly excited
about the potential impact of this technology
on global health, given that
stroke is one of the leading causes of
death and long-term disability. "
This research was supported in part by
the National Science Foundation, the
National Institutes of Health, and Phillips
Research of North America.
This article was written by Jennifer Chu,
MIT. For more information, visit https://
news.mit.edu. A video of the technology is
available at https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=IYlHl6h8lm4&t=1s.
COMPACT. SILENT. PRECISE.
MBSA: Motorized Ball Screw Actuator
Compact, high-accuracy positioning through seamless mechatronic integration.
For precision-critical medical, imaging and laboratory applications, NSK integrates a highresolution
motor with our precision-machined ball screw to create the MBSA Motorized
Ball Screw Actuator. The result: smooth, near-silent, extremely reliable and ultra-accurate
motion, improving efficiency and throughput while lowering costs.
Enabling Automation in Motion & Control.
38
www.medicaldesignbriefs.com
WWW.NSKAUTOMATION.COM
Medical Design Briefs, July 2022

https://news.mit.edu https://news.mit.edu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYlHl6h8lm4&t=1s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYlHl6h8lm4&t=1s http://info.hotims.com/82323-719 http://www.medicaldesignbriefs.com

Medical Design Briefs - July 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Medical Design Briefs - July 2022