UC San Diego

In this work, we present a portable, lightweight, modular, and flexible handheld robotic catheter designed to assist surgeons in performing surgical procedures by providing increased imaging capabilities, flexibility, and modularity. This is the first handheld roboticized catheter of its kind capable of navigating complex, convoluted, and highly constrained unseen environments with dexterity. The device has been tested in a variety of environments, both seen and unseen, with varying levels of complexity, beginning with simple anatomical models with the goal of moving toward in vivo experiments.