Active catheter

1101201-3

[DEFINITION]
A catheter that can reach its destination by bending freely with a mounted micro-actuator in response to external control signals received.

[DESCRIPTION]
If a catheter could bend freely and reliably inside winding tubular organs with internal passageways in response to external manipulation, diagnostic or therapeutic tools could be easily inserted into parts of the body through blood vessels. 　To realize the active catheter, various micro-actuators and micro-mechanisms will have to be developed.

[References]
(1)(2)(4)

[Related Terms]
Fiber endoscope