• steerable catheter
• minimally invasive cardiac surgery
• Nitinol
• finite element modelling simulation
• left atrial appendage occlusion

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).