Endovascular guidewire flexibility simulation

Abstract

Endovascular clinicians use guidewires to navigate within vessels during angiography or angioplasty. In mastering this core skill, an alternative to the traditional apprenticeship in patients is provided by virtual training environments though these require a faithful replication of complex guidewire behaviours inside the vasculature. This paper presents the integration of realistic flexibilities into our guidewire model that simulates the stiffness of seven commonly used guidewires. Each virtual instrument is represented as a mass-spring model replicating their flexibility and shape, especially at the flexible end. The bending coefficients were determined by comparing of the behaviour of real guidewires in a transparent silicone rubber vascular phantom to that of virtual guidewires in the virtual representation of the phantom. As a result, our representation captures the required range of behaviour and enables accurate deformation. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.