Design and Evaluation of a Soft Robotic Catheter Tip Prototype with Self-Propulsion and Shape Changeable Teleoperation

Intravascular procedures could benefit from the ability to control the overall shape of the distal end of the catheter. In this paper, we present the design of a fluid-controlled segmented catheter which enables independent curvature control of three distal segments of the catheter in a 2D plane. The catheter is controlled through a flexible master manipulator, allowing the interventional radiologist to define the shape of this distal tip through an intuitive control method. Finite element analysis was used to characterize the behavior of each segment of the catheter, and the simulation results were validated experimentally using an electromagnetic tracker. Furthermore, we find that the unique multi-chambered design of the catheter tip can be exploited to achieve additional unique and valuable features to the medical professional, including steering and forward propulsion. These are demonstrated by applying an algorithm for rectilinear locomotion for propulsion through a physical model.