Robotic-Assisted Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

The CorPath System is a robotic system for use in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In a PCI procedure, balloon catheters are inflated at the coronary lesion to enlarge the narrowed vessel to restore blood flow. To visualize the devices inside the arteries, a fluoroscopy system is used, which exposes physicians to X-ray radiation during the procedure. The CorPath System allows the physician to navigate the devices deployed in PCI using robotic controls. Therefore, it significantly reduces physician exposure to radiation as well as musculoskeletal strain related to wearing heavy leaded aprons, as the physician can operate while seated at a radiation-shielded workstation. In addition, the robotic system allows higher precision than performing the procedure manually. In this chapter, the architecture of the CorPath GRX System, different functions of the robot, and the workflow of robotic-assisted PCI are presented. Moreover, kinematics of the arm used to position the robotic drive system is studied. Using the kinematics and workspace analysis, the arm is designed so that the robotic drive can reach to all the desired poses relative to the patient. Finally, a control model of the actuators used to manipulate the devices is developed and presented.