Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering

Catheterization instruments are increasingly being improved to accurately diagnose and treat cardiovascular conditions. However, current catheter systems provide limited information about the shape of the catheter and tissue-instrument interaction forces during an intervention. Furthermore, relying on inconsistent feedback of such interaction forces during an intervention may result in tissue injury. This paper presents the first steps to estimate the interaction forces between a catheter and a mock-up arterial environment. We base the proposed method on a Pseudo-Rigid Body approximation of the catheter and integrate three-dimensional shape information provided by Fiber Bragg Grating sensors inside the catheter. The reconstructed forces along the catheter body can be fed back to the surgeon in visual and/or haptic form. In this work, the estimated forces are displayed in real-time in a graphical user interface with the reconstructed catheter shape. Experimental validation demonstrates a root mean square error of 0.03 N and a mean reconstruction error of 0.02 N.