Biomimetic Compliant Manipulator for Vascular Guidewire and Catheter Operations

This article presents a novel vascular interventional guidewire and catheter manipulator based on purely compliant mechanisms, adopting a technical approach different from that of existing surgical robots. Inspired by human manual manipulation of guidewires and catheters, the proposed manipulator adopts a biomimetic operation paradigm, enabling axial and rotational actuation while simultaneously measuring the interaction force and torque in real time. By employing purely compliant mechanisms, the design is highly simplified, with integrally manufactured core components and no rigid kinematic pairs. A symmetric architecture is adopted to enable a modular design, facilitating assembly and maintenance. Experimental results validate the performance of the proposed biomimetic compliant manipulator, and operational safety is demonstrated through a force-limiting control strategy based on the integrated force-sensing capability. The proposed design concept provides guidance for the development of vascular interventional surgical robots and is potentially applicable to mechanical systems requiring multiaxis manipulation and sensing.