A Master‐Follower Teleoperation System for Robotic Catheterisation: Design, Characterisation and Tracking Control

TL;DR

This paper introduces a master-follower robotic system for catheterization that improves precision and mimics manual techniques, with performance evaluated on various path-tracking tasks.

Contribution

A novel three-degree-of-freedom master-follower system for robotic catheterization with a grip-insert-release mechanism to prevent catheter buckling.

Findings

The system achieved mean Euclidean errors between 0.64 and 1.53 cm across different path types.

Mean absolute errors ranged from 0.81 to 1.92 cm, meeting precision targets with an open-loop controller.

Closed-loop control is necessary to handle catheter hysteresis and nonlinearities.

Abstract

Over the past 2 decades, telerobotic systems with robot‐mediated, minimally invasive techniques, have mitigated radiation exposure for medical staff and extended medical services to remote areas. To enhance these services, master‐follower telerobotic systems should offer transparency, enabling surgeons and clinicians to feel force interactions similar to those the follower device experiences with patients' bodies.

We present a three‐degree‐of‐freedom master‐follower teleoperated system for robotic catheterisation. The follower device uses a grip‐insert‐release mechanism to prevent catheter buckling and torsion, mimicking real‐world manual intervention. Performance is evaluated through open‐loop path tracking on circular, infinity‐like and spiral paths.

Path tracking errors, mean Euclidean error (MEE) and mean absolute error (MAE), range from 0.64 to 1.53 cm (MEE) and 0.81–1.92 cm (MAE) for different paths.

While the system meets precision and accuracy targets with an open‐loop controller, closed‐loop control is needed to address catheter hysteresis, dead zones and nonlinearities.

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