title: Conducting polymer based active catheter for minimally invasive interventions inside arteries.
abstract: An active catheter intended for controllable intravascular maneuvers is presented and initial experimental results are shown. A commercial catheter is coated with polypyrrole and laser micromachined into electrodes, which are electrochemically activated, leading to bending of the catheter. The catheter's electro-chemo-mechanical properties are theoretically modeled to design the first prototype device, and used to predict an optimal polypyrrole thickness for the desired degree of bending within approximately 30 seconds. We compared the experimental result of catheter bending to the theoretical model with estimated electrochemical strain, showing reasonable agreement. Finally, we used the model to design an encapsulated catheter with polypyrrole actuation for improved intravascular compatibility and performance.
authors.affiliation: University of British Columbia, Vancouver Canada. tinas@ece.ubc.ca
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shoa
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Madden
authors.forename: Niloofar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fekri
authors.forename: Nigel R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Munce
authors.forename: Victor X D
authors.initials: VX
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D001158:Arteries / Q000601:surgery*; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002404:Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004566:Electrodes; D004867:Equipment Design; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011108:Polymers; D011758:Pyrroles; D013314:Stress, Mechanical
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011108:Polymers; D011758:Pyrroles; C067635:polypyrrole