A Robotically Steerable Guidewire with Forward-Viewing Ultrasound: Development of Technology for Minimally-Invasive Imaging
https://www.embs.org/tbme/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2021/06/TBME-01152-2020-Highlight-Image.gif
170
177
IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering (TBME)
//www.embs.org/tbme/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2022/06/ieee-tbme-logo2x.png
Inability to visualize or cross chronic total occlusions leads to high failure rates (25%) during endovascular treatment of peripheral artery disease. To address this problem, a robotically-steerable guidewire system (0.035’’-diameter) was developed with integrated forward-viewing ultrasound guidance. A custom, sub-millimeter ultrasound transducer and a synthetic aperture image formation approach were developed, allowing imaging with high resolution (0.25 mm) and sensitivity (SNR = 31 dB). Imaging performance was demonstrated in phantoms and an ex vivo artery. This robotically-steered guidewire with forward-viewing guidance can increase procedural success by navigating across chronic total occlusions that cannot currently be crossed in endovascular procedures.
read more