• catheter
• deployment mechanism
• FBG sensor
• interventional cardiology
• smart deployment systems

Interventional Cardiology (IC) is a relatively new field in medicine. Worldwide, IC procedures save around 46 million lives each year. Due to the considerably high influence of these procedures, there is always a demand to integrate the latest technologies into them constantly. These technologies make the procedure safer, effective, and accessible to all. One of the areas that need significant improvement is the exposure of patients and doctors to the harmful radiation from X-rays used for localization and mapping. As a consequence of the optical property of blood, we cannot equip standard camera vision during these procedures when inside the heart. Even after 120 years of invention X-rays remain the state of art for the imaging modalities used in cardiology. However, with the onset of newer technology like Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG), this limitation seems to come to an end. Using a multicore fiber of FBG sensor has shown promising results in localizing the catheter within the anatomy with shape reconstruction. Moreover, these fibers also act as force-measuring transducers. These multicore fibers give accurate shape and force data crucial for surgical procedures. Moreover, they help to eliminate harmful exposure from X-rays. However, the sensor output of these fibers is corrupted in the presence of torsional strain. Due to this limitation, they cannot be used with devices requiring twists or torques for their release in the anatomy. This thesis presents mechanisms for the deployment of implantable medical devices by catheter. Moreover, the development is focused on the release of a device for Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion (LAAO) by Abbott Laboratories. The occluder is attached to the delivery catheter with a nut and bolt interface, making the release of this device impossible without torque. Hence one cannot use the advantages of FBG sensors by integrating them into the catheter. This thesis will demonstrate how this limitation can be eliminated using smart deployment systems. The presented deployment mechanism is made up of four cantilever beams with threaded tips. These beams are arranged in a circle forming a hollow slotted bolt. Additionally, a core is passed concentrically through this bolt. This arrangement enables us to release the occluder depending on the position of the core. This thesis will discuss the design and control of this deployment mechanism.