Tipo di tesi
Tesi di laurea magistrale
Titolo
Design and development of a steerable catheter tip for left atrial appendage occlusion
Dipartimento
INGEGNERIA DELL'INFORMAZIONE
Corso di studi
BIONICS ENGINEERING
Parole chiave
- finite element modelling simulation
- left atrial appendage occlusion
- minimally invasive cardiac surgery
- Nitinol
- steerable catheter
Data inizio appello
06/10/2023
Consultabilità
Non consultabile
Data di rilascio
06/10/2093
Riassunto (Italiano)
Atrial fibrillation (AF), a prevalent cardiac arrhythmia affecting approximately 1-2% of the global population, elevates the risk of stroke fivefold. More than 90% of thrombi in AF patients are attributed to left atrial appendage (LAA). In recent years, percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) has rapidly gained global prominence as a mechanical alternative to long-term anticoagulation therapy for stroke prevention. Traditional LAAO procedures face challenges, including peri-device leaks (PDL) after the implantation. Nowadays, commercial sheaths for LAAO on the market are passive, featuring a pre-curved tip that restricts adaptability to various LAA locations. With the aim of overcoming these limitations, a novel steerable sheath for LAAO is presented, incorporating a multi-section Nitinol tip. This innovative tip design offers tailored stiffness, independent proximal and distal segment bending, and finer control thanks to Nitinol’s superelasticity. These features are intended to improve co-axial alignment with LAA and allow a precise and effective implantation. To achieve the proper structure, a finite element method (FEM)-based design was compared with preliminary experimental validation. This thesis work was conducted within the framework of the European ARTERY project (https://www.artery-project.eu).
