A self-expandable nitinol frame for cable-driven parallel mechanisms in minimally invasive cardiovascular interventions.

The integration of self-expandable nitinol frames with cable-driven parallel mechanisms offers a promising advancement in minimally invasive cardiovascular interventions. This study presents the design, fabrication, and verification of a miniaturized self-expandable nitinol frame to enhance catheter tip steerability and navigation within complex vascular anatomies. The frame is reduced in size for delivery through 7-8 Fr sheaths while accommodating diverse vascular diameters, allowing up to a maximum expansion of 15 mm.

The CathEye: A Forward-Looking Ultrasound Catheter for Image-Guided Cardiovascular Procedures.

Catheter based procedures are typically guided by X-Ray, which suffers from low soft tissue contrast and only provides 2D projection images of a 3D volume. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) can serve as a complementary imaging technique. Forward viewing catheters are useful for visualizing obstructions along the path of the catheter.