Robot-assisted systems for vascular interventional surgery (VIS) have the advantages of high precision and an improved operating environment for the surgeon. However, the current robot-assisted systems cannot completely replace human beings in controlling interventional devices—for example, rapid guidewire/catheter replacement and force feedback. In the face of these challenges, the robot-assisted system presented in this article can better solve the above problems. The experiments for the guidewire and catheter were designed and performed separately based on the developed robot-assisted system. The experimental results show that the participants can use the system to manipulate the guidewire and catheter to reach the designated blood vessel position. Based on the experiments for the catheter, for the first time, the reciprocating manipulation method with visual-based force feedback (VFF) was used for experimental evaluation. The experimental results show that this method can effectively avoid the buckling phenomenon of the catheter; the VFF plays a vital role in improving the safety of the operation and provides an operational assessment of VIS safety. In addition, this article puts forward the evaluation index for maximum pull force (MPLF) and force fluctuation, which provides an essential reference for enriching the evaluation of VIS technical skills.

Vascular interventional robots have attracted growing attention in recent years. However, current vascular interventional robot systems generally lack force feedback and cannot quickly clamp the catheter/guidewire. The structure of slave systems is unstable and the power transmission is imprecise, increasing the system’s safety hazards. Vascular intervention robots generally do not follow traditional surgeons’ operation habits and, thus, it is not easy for them to understand and learn how to operate. Therefore, a novel vascular intervention system is proposed. The slave system can quickly clamp the catheter/guidewire, is compatible with various standard catheter/guidewire sizes, has precise power transmission, and has a stable structure. The surface of the catheter/guidewire is clamped without damage. Whether it is on the master side or the slave side, it follows the habits of traditional operators to a great extent. The results show that the measurement accuracy of the axial force meets the requirements of robot-assisted surgery and the system can track the designed position of the catheter/guidewire in real time. This study makes a certain contribution to the development of master–slave systems for endovascular tele-surgery.

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