In nature multiple animals have developed intriguing shooting mechanisms for food capture, defence, and reproductive reasons. Think for example on the amazing tongue shooting capability of the chameleon and the appendage strike of the mantis shrimp.
For a full overview of innovative and interesting shooting mechanisms in nature, we would like to refer to: Shooting Mechanisms in Nature: A Systematic Review by Sakes et al. [2016]
These shooting mechanisms can offer inspiration for new ideas on the technological development of fast acceleration mechanisms in medicine. High-speed shooting mechanisms can, for example, be used for the endovascular treatment of Chronic Total occlusions (CTOs). CTOs are heavily calcified and are thus difficult to puncture and cross with the small (0.36 mm) guidewire. The required force to puncture the CTO is often higher than the buckling force of the guidewire due to the low bending stiffness (EI) and long (unsupported) length (L). As a result, the guidewire often buckles. Buckling in turn causes procedural failure since the CTO cannot be crossed. Buckling of the crossing tool may be prevented by using a high-speed crossing tools as this increases the buckling resistance of the guidewire and potentially minimizes the puncture force of the CTO.
With this in mind an innovative high-speed crossing tool was developed using nature’s shooting mechanisms as inspiration. The crossing tool (OD 2 mm) incorporates an innovative spring-driven indenter and decoupling mechanism for high-speed puncturing of the proximal cap. First tests have been very promising. The prototype hit the CTO with an average speed of 3.4 m/s and was able to deliver a maximum force of 20 N (without buckling), which is well over the required 1.5 N to puncture the CTO. Additionally, the device was tested on CTO models made out of calcium and gelatine of different consistency. Puncture was achieved with on average 2.5 strikes for heavily calcified (77 wt% calcium) CTO models.
We feel that with continued development of this technique it will become possible to deliver high forces in ultra thin devices, such as guidewires, and as such increase the success rate of the the endovascular treatment of CTOs and other minimal invasive applications.
For a video of the prototype hitting a fixed surface, please see: Velocity_Max_10fps (Converted), which is slowed down 1000x.