Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.

Siemens Healthcare Gmbh

Siemens Healthineers Ag

Christian DeBuys

Tommaso Mansi

Ankur Kapoor

Young-Ho Kim

A robotic catheter navigation system, and a method for operating the robotic catheter navigation system, are provided. The robotic catheter navigation system comprises a catheter handle, a motor, and a torque transfer disk. The catheter handle comprises a set of gears coupled to a first shaft. The motor is for rotating a second shaft. The torque transfer disk is coupled to the first shaft and the second shaft for transferring the rotation of the second shaft to the first shaft to thereby rotate the set of gears for steering a catheter.

Interlocking gear system for sterile robotic catheter navigation systems

For robotically operating a catheter, translation and/or rotation manipulation is provided along the shaft or away from the handle, such as near a point of access to the patient. A worm drive arrangement may allow for both translation and rotation of the shaft. Some control may be provided by robotic manipulation of the handle, while other control (e.g., fine adjustments) are made by robotic manipulation of the shaft.

Dual manipulation for robotic catheter system

For robotically operating a catheter, a medical catheter is controlled by rotation of the catheter as well as steering in one or more planes of a distal end of the catheter. To robotically rotate the catheter, a handle is rotated. The steering is performed separately using one or more knobs on the handle. The rotation of the handle complicates the robotic control of the knob. A mechanical decoupling is used so that rotation of the handle maintains the position of the knob relative to the handle. Gearing or transmission is used to avoid independent control of the knob and handle rotation. In an alternative or additional approach, the handle may be robotically controlled while also guiding the catheter shaft spaced away from the handle, allowing fine-tuned control of the catheter at the access point to the patient.

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College Station, TX, United States of America

Christian DeBuys