Analytical modeling of a conducting polymer‐driven catheter

Abstract

A time-dependent electrochemical and mechanical model of the bending of a conducting polymer actuator-driven structure is presented, and the predicted response is compared with experimental results. The model uses time constants obtained from a transmission line model to describe the electronic and ionic charge transport into the polymer actuator. It then relates the charge transport to the mechanical deflection of the actuator structure. The model is used to predict the time-dependent bending of an active catheter, which is ultimately intended for use in intravascular imaging. A commercial catheter is coated with polypyrrole and laser micromachined into electrodes, which are electrochemically activated, leading to bending of the catheter. The time-dependent bending is compared with the dynamic beam bending model, with measured physical properties including elastic moduli, strain to charge ratio, electronic conductivity, ionic conductivity and capacitance used in the model to successfully describe the dynamics. The results of this comparison are used to determine the primary factors limiting catheter bending speed, and to suggest an optimal polypyrrole geometry and electrochemical parameters in order to achieve faster response.

Templateless electrogeneration of polypyrrole nanostructures: impact of the anionic composition and pH of the monomer solution

“…These properties allow its use for various applications such as (bio)chemical sensors, [1][2][3] biomedical devices, 4,5 batteries, 6,7,8 fuel cells, 9,10 electrochemical supercapacitors, 11,12,13 corrosion protection 14,15 and so on. 16,17 For all of these applications the structure of the polymer is important, and it is notably interesting to have nanostructures with very high specific surface.…”

Soft linear electroactive polymer actuators based on polypyrrole

“…This may be a salt solution or an ionic liquid embedded in a polymer matrix that allows operation in normal atmosphere and also results in a major increase in cycle life time [10,11]. Moreover, CPs are known to be biocompatible, making these actuators well suited for applications within cell biology and medical devices, such as steerable catheters [12][13][14]. In most cases, an electrochemical synthesis route is the preferred method to synthesize CPs for actuator applications.…”

Kinematics and performance analysis of a novel concentric tube robotic structure with embedded soft micro-actuation

“…The actuation of every couple of electrodes with opposed voltages (of less than one volt for PPy) produces a bending moment around the transversal axis as shown in Fig. 3c described in details by [62], among others.…”