Multifunctional robotic guidewire system using spiral-type magnetic microrobot with magnetic manipulation

This paper presents a new multifunctional active guidewire system for medical applications that uses a magnetic microrobot. The study demonstrated that the proposed microrobot system could swim and be controlled under Low-Reynolds-number (Re) environments in blood vessel models. The prototype of the robotic guidewire, which is driven within a three-axis Helmholtz coil system, consists of a guide-wire, spiral blade, drilling tip, and permanent magnet. The spiral-type microrobot showed stable active locomotion between 3 kA/m and 9.1 kA/m under driving frequency up to 70 Hz in a silicone oil (of viscosity 1000 cst). The microrobot produced a maximum moving velocity of 8.08 × 10⁻³ m/s at 70 Hz and 9.1 kA/m. In particular, the robotic guidewire produced 3D locomotion with drilling in the three-axis Helmholtz coil system. We verified active locomotion, towing of guidewire, steering, and drilling of the proposed robotic guidewire system through experimental analyses.