Cardiac catheter control using actuator wire

The main goal of this research is to design a snake-like robot arm to provide control of a cardiac catheter for use in endovascular aortic repair that is small, cheap, and easy to use. This will help increase the number of aortic aneurysms eligible for endovascular repair and make the procedure simpler and safer for both the patient and the operator. The arm surrounds the catheter and is comprised of two joints that can independently move in any direction giving the operator the ability to easily navigate complicated paths and to control the arm remotely. The arm is controlled by Flexinol actuator wire which is comprised of a nickel titanium alloy that contracts when heated. This allows the arm to be controlled electrically by sending current through the actuator wire thereby heating it. The level of current can be controlled using a microcontroller to generate a pulse width modulated signal to vary the average current. The arm can then be controlled remotely by an operator.