Micro catheter system with active guide wire

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a new prototype model of micro-catheter with active guide wire that has two bending degrees of freedom. The design and fabrication methods of this micro active catheters (MAC) are described. Prototype models are 3Fr, 4Fr, 6Fr (1Fr=1/3 mm) in diameter and consist of catheter tube and active guide wire with ionic conducting polymer film actuator on its front end as the servo actuator. The bending characteristics of the MAC have been measured by application of electricity in physiological saline solution. We also modeled this MAC for characteristic evaluation. Experimental results show that the model of the active catheter is reasonable for practical applications. By using simulators (whose conditions are similar to those of a body cavity), we also carried out simulation experiments "in vitro". The experimental results indicate that the proposed MAC is applicable to intracavity operations.