Application of magnetically actuated self-clearing catheter for rapid in situ blood clot clearance in hemorrhagic stroke treatment

Abstract

Maintaining the patency of indwelling drainage devices is critical in preventing further complications following an intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and other chronic disease management. Surgeons often use drainage devices to remove blood and cerebrospinal fluid but these catheters frequently become occluded with hematoma. Using an implantable magnetic microactuator, we created a self-clearing catheter that can generate large enough forces to break down obstructive blood clots by applying time-varying magnetic fields. In a blood-circulating model, our self-clearing catheters demonstrated a > 7x longer functionality than traditional catheters (211 vs. 27 min) and maintained a low pressure for longer periods (239 vs. 79 min). Using a porcine IVH model, the self-clearing catheters showed a greater survival rate than control catheters (86% vs. 0%) over the course of 6 weeks. The treated animals also had significantly smaller ventricle sizes 1 week after implantation compared to the control animals with traditional catheters. Our results suggest that these magnetic microactuator-embedded smart catheters can expedite the removal of blood from the ventricles and potentially improve the outcomes of critical patients suffering from often deadly IVH.

Multifunctional flexible magnetic drive gripper for target manipulation in complex constrained environments

“…Actuators that can perform end operations under the condition of overall flexibility are expected to solve abovementioned problems, and the working principles of actuators include electric driven, [4][5][6] fluid driven, [7][8][9] light driven, 10,11 tendon driven, 12,13 and magnetic field driven. [14][15][16][17] Magnetic field driven actuation has the advantages of bio-safety, penetration of opaque objects, and remote control, and has become a research hotspot for precise operations in complex constrained spaces. In the initial stage, the operation in the constrained space using the magnetic field relies mainly on small permanent magnets fixed onto the structure, which are displaced 18,19 or rotate 20,21 under the external magnetic field, thereby driving the structure where the magnet is located to achieve the expected function.…”

“…Actuators that can perform end operations under the condition of overall flexibility are expected to solve abovementioned problems, and the working principles of actuators include electric driven, 4–6 fluid driven, 7–9 light driven, 10,11 tendon driven, 12,13 and magnetic field driven. 14–17…”

Editorial for the Special Issue on Flexible Sensors and Actuators for Biomedicine

“…While flexible sensors have shown remarkable applications in biomedicine, they fall short in generating motion or offering mechanical stimulation for more interventional therapies. In such cases, soft actuators are often capable of producing motion [29] or deformation [30] under various stimuli such as mechanical input, laser irradiation, electric and magnetic fields, temperature variation, etc. [31][32][33].…”