Recently, there has been active research in finding robotized solutions for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) by augmenting catheter systems through the integration of force sensors at the tip. However, limited research has been aimed at providing automatic force control by also integrating actuation of the catheter tip, which can significantly enhance safety in such procedures. This article solves the demanding challenge of miniaturizing both actuation and sensing for integration into flexible catheters. Fabrication strategies are presented for a series of novel soft thick-walled cylindrical actuators, with embedded sensing using eutectic gallium–indium. The functional catheter tips have a diameter in the range of 2.6–3.6 mm and can both generate and detect forces in the range of < 0.4 N, with a bandwidth of 1–2 Hz. The deformation modeling of thick-walled cylinders with fiber reinforcement is presented in the article. An experimental setup developed for static and dynamic characterization of these units is presented. The prototyped units were validated with respect to the design specifications. The preliminary force control results indicate that these units can be used in tracking and control of contact force, which has the potential to make AF procedures much safer and more accurate.

中文翻译：

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用于心脏消融导管动态力控制的软小型驱动和传感单元

最近，通过在尖端集成力传感器来增强导管系统，在寻找治疗心房颤动 (AF) 的机器人解决方案方面进行了积极的研究。然而，有限的研究旨在通过集成导管尖端的驱动来提供自动力控制，这可以显着提高此类程序的安全性。本文解决了将驱动和传感小型化以集成到柔性导管中的艰巨挑战。提出了一系列新型软厚壁圆柱形致动器的制造策略，并使用共晶镓铟进行嵌入式传感。功能性导管尖端的直径在 2.6-3.6 mm 范围内，并且可以产生和检测 < 0.4 N 范围内的力，带宽为 1-2 Hz。本文介绍了采用纤维增强的厚壁圆柱体的变形建模。介绍了为这些单元的静态和动态特性开发的实验装置。原型单元已根据设计规范进行了验证。初步力控制结果表明，这些单元可用于接触力的跟踪和控制，这有可能使自动对焦程序更安全、更准确。