SHAPE-LOCKING
CATHETER

Gregoire Caubel
John Nguyen

ADVISED BY PROFESSOR ERIC LIMA,
DR. ANTHONY COSTA,
AND ALEXIS BRUHAT

80% of strokes every year are ischemic in nature, meaning a physical clot blocks blood flow to a certain region of the brain. Physicians only have 4.5 hours to intervene after a stroke event, and commonly use neurovascular support catheters to physically remove the blockage. These catheters need to be flexible enough to maneuver around complex vasculature, but rigid enough to hold their position during an operation. Instability of these support catheters caused by buckling can lead to longer surgical intervention times and greater risk for the patient. The aim of this project is to develop a computer simulation to better understand the dynamics of a catheter within the aortic arch and to use the simulation to determine the feasibility of a variable stiffness mechanism for improving the operational stability of support catheters.

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