The development and testing of a smart sensorized guide wire for catheterization in a "blood" vessel phantom to support aortic valve implementation.

Purpose: Heart valve disease is commonly treated by minimally invasive procedures with guide wires and catheterization. The main purpose of this study is to find out whether an extension of the guide wire with a sensor can support the surgeon within the blood vessel to reduce X-ray necessity.

Methods: A smart guide wire is developed by an extension with a flex-bending sensor to evaluate the sensor signal with and without "blood" flow at a constant compression force.