Soft Robotic Catheter for Beating Heart Surgery
February 27, 2024 | Terry Sharrer
“Based on an octopus-inspired device previously created by Ranzani, it incorporates a flexible, inflatable, accordion-bellows-like tip. Immediately behind that tip is a ribbed expandable ring. As the device makes its way through the vein, the tip stays deflated and the ring remains in a narrowed state – so the catheter as a whole is relatively narrow. Upon reaching the opening to the heart, the ring is expanded, bracing the catheter against the inner walls of the vein. The tip is then inflated, causing it to expand into the heart. Because it becomes thicker and stronger once inflated, it doesn’t get knocked around by the beating cardiac tissue.” MORE
Image Credit: NIBIB