Steerable Guidewire – Maneuvering without Twisting

Developed in 2007-2008, diameter 0.9 mm, length 1 m, steering range: ±90º in all directions.

The Steerable Guidewire has been developed by spin-off DEAM in a very close collaboration with the BITE-group, using our patented Cable-Ring technology. Intended for easy steering through a network of blood vessels during catheter interventions, the guidewire contains a flexible shaft ending in a steerable tip with two Degrees of Freedom (DOF). The mechanism is novel as compared to existing guidewire designs in that it requires no need for twisting the guidewire body for re-directing the tip, which results in a much more stable and fluent 3D steering motion. The tip-mechanism is similar to the I-Fex and composed out of seven steering cables surrounded by a spring. The handle contains two joysticks, one at the proximal handle side and one at the distal handle side, that can both be used to control the 2-DOF tip. The Steerable Guidewire forms the basis for a series of new multi-steerable catheters designs currently being developed in the BITE-group.

 

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