Presenting a New Version of the RObotic System for Angioplasty

Abstract

This paper describes the new version of RObotic System for Angioplasty (ROSA), which was developed from a simplified version of the RObotic System for Endovascular Surgery (ROSES). ROSES itself arose from the original ROSA device and has been tested for clinical use on patients. The new version of ROSA offers several advantages over the previous versions. First, it allows the measurement of forces used to track catheters during the endovascular procedure. This process only requires standard mechanical disposables, since the measuring system is embedded in a special cart that controls the movement of various robotic actuators. Second, it uses a new hemostasis valve that rotates with the angioplasty disposable, making it easier to guide rotations. Finally, it offers the possibility of positioning the initial catheter using a system that includes two robotic actuators found on the cart. The first of these is simpler and has an internal disposable, whereas the second is new and contains two gear trains, which control five independent parameters (two rotations and three advancements). This makes it possible to control advancement and rotation of the initial catheter, while straightening its curvature using a movable core guidewire. Once the first catheter is correctly positioned, it is possible to perform all procedures without changing the position of the guiding catheter by replacing the disposable for the 0.035" guidewire with movable core with the disposable for angioplasty, which drives both the angioplasty balloons or stents and the 0.016” wire, which instead needs to turn on its axis in order to ease penetration of the small guide wire which has to penetrate the winding path of the coronaries. And this is allowed by the presence of the two independent gear trains of the recent robotic actuator, which can block rotations of the gear train on which the initial catheter is positioned, while allowing all rotations needed for the angioplasty disposable. However, in the near future it will also be possible to change the position of the guiding catheter using a special 6 French catheter with controlled tip curvature, for example, to perform an additional angioplasty on a different coronary artery, should this be required.