A simulation environment for robot-assisted endovascular interventions

Purpose: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality globally. Advances in interventional radiology and endovascular devices have made endovascular procedures effective alternatives to traditional open surgery, leading to their routine application in clinical practice. Within this framework, novel technologies, including robotic platforms and navigation software, have been developed to assist clinicians in executing endovascular interventions with improved dexterity, enhanced guidance, and superior clinical training, ultimately yielding better patient outcomes. Methods: This study aims to develop a model-based simulation environment within the SOFA framework, to enable shape and force sensing for endovascular robotic procedures. The vascular catheter was modeled using beam theory, and realistic interactions between the catheter and vascular models were established using the finite element method (FEM) with both linear elastic and nonlinear hyper-elastic models. Experiments measured contact forces and positional changes during catheter insertion, comparing anatomical deformations with simulation results. Results: Experimental tests validated the simulated force and displacement measurements. The catheter contact force showed an absolute error of 0.0371 N (30.45%). Catheter tip displacement averaged 3.1 mm, and the proximal segment’s Fréchet distance averaged 3.6 mm. For the anatomical model, the elastic FEM model performed best, with deformation measurement errors of 34%, 19%, and 59% across three different force scenarios. Conclusion: The results indicate that the integration of advanced physical modeling, realistic human–robot interactions, and enhanced computational capabilities will facilitate the development of innovative solutions, enabling clinicians to achieve greater accuracy and reliability in minimally invasive surgical (MIS) applications, particularly in endovascular interventions.