Development of a Flexible Parallel Wire Robot for Epicardial Interventions

Background: HeartPrinter is a flexible parallel wire robot that adheres to the beating heart with vacuum suction at three bases. An injector head actuated by cables delivers gene therapy injections within the bounds of the bases. To deploy onto the epicardium, an introducer mechanism is required. On the heart, the robot's workspace and anatomical model registration to its pose are needed. Methods: We present HeartPrinter's components and introducer mechanism, and assess them on an artificial beating heart. We evaluate accuracy for position determination of the bases and registering a three-dimensional heart scan. Results: The introducer mechanism successfully positioned HeartPrinter, and the bases adhered to the beating heart. The base positions and registration were calculated accurately with errors under 4 and 2 mm. Conclusions: The introducer mechanism can deploy HeartPrinter on the epicardium, and HeartPrinter's components can operate on the heart. Workspace determination and registration demonstrate feasibility as preliminary concepts.