Conceptual Design and Procedure for an Autonomous Intramyocardial Injection Catheter

This article discusses existing catheter systems and proposes a conceptual design and procedure for an autonomous cell injection catheter for the purpose of transferring committed myogenic or undifferentiated stem cells into the infarct boundary zones of the left ventricle. Operation of existing catheters used for cell delivery is far from optimal. Commercial injection catheters available are handheld devices operated manually by means of tip deflection and torque capabilities. Interventionists require a hefty learning curve and often encounter difficulties in catheter stabilization and infarct detection, resulting in lengthy operation times and nonprecise injections. We examined current technologies and proposed a design incorporating robotic positional control, feedback signals, and an adaptable operational sequence to overcome these problems. The design provides the basis for robotic catheter construction that is able to autonomously assist the physician in transferring myogenic cells to the left ventricle infarct boundary zones.