# SCH: Versatile and Compact Telerobot with Haptic Feedback and Physics-Informed Simulation for Safety Enhanced Neurovascular Interventions

> **NIH NIH R01** · NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY RALEIGH · 2024 · $294,729

## Abstract

Stroke is a leading cause of mortality and chronic disability, which predominately occurs due to blood clots
 or plaques impeding the blood flow in the brain (ischemic stroke) or a rupture in brain arteries
 (hemorrhagic stroke). Minimally invasive endovascular procedures, e.g., thrombectomy (removing clots to
 restore blood flow) and neurovascular embolization (deploying coils in aneurysms to obstruct blood flow),
 are employed to treat these two strokes but also pose risks for X-ray radiation exposure. Robots were
 introduced to safeguard operators from radiation and increase precision via teleoperated control several
 meters away from the patient. However, these robots are bulky capital equipment and only mechanically
 compatible with a few instruments. To tackle these limitations, we developed a versatile 4-DOF robot with
 a significantly smaller size than state-of-the-art robots and is compatible with a wide variety of
 instruments. To further improve effectiveness and usability of endovascular robots, we identify three key
 limitations to the widespread adoption of robotic systems: 1) prolonged procedure time due to frequent
 robotic to manual conversions due to lack of full actuation of instruments; 2) steep learning curve and long
 training time for clinicians to implement complex surgical manipulation with robots to perform interventions
 due to the lack of coordinated control and pre-operative training of robot-assisted procedure; 3) elevated
 risks of vessel or aneurysm ruptures due to lack of haptic feedback for instrument-vessel interaction force.
 Our interdisciplinary team, consisting of experts in robotics (Su), mechanics (Jawed), interventional
 neuroradiology (Tateshima, M.D.), anatomy (Hartstone-Rose), human-robot interaction (Joo) will: 1)
 develop full actuation (avoid manual loading/unloading of instruments), coordinated control paradigms,
 and patient-side haptic module for our robot; 2) establish a machine learning-assisted physics-based
 simulation framework for pre-operative training and intra-operative situational awareness; 3) study
 human-robot interaction to evaluate multiple metrics about manual, partial actuation, and full actuation
procedures.
 Our goal is to design intelligent robots in concert with pre-operative virtual training and intra-operative
 virtual fixtures (safety zone) to improve effectiveness and usability, thus ultimately enhancing safety and
 clinical outcome of neurovascular interventions.
RELEVANCE (See instructions):
 Our project entails transformative methods that span design, simulation, and medicine for an in-depth
 understanding of human-robot interaction for a surgery that saves the lives of millions of humans. Our
 work will advance two fundamental science disciplines: Robotics and Mechanics, and will make scientific
 contributions to computer sciences and engineering to improve fundamental understanding of medicine.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11063398
- **Project number:** 1R01NS141171-01
- **Recipient organization:** NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY RALEIGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Hao Su
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $294,729
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-17 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11063398

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11063398, SCH: Versatile and Compact Telerobot with Haptic Feedback and Physics-Informed Simulation for Safety Enhanced Neurovascular Interventions (1R01NS141171-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11063398. Licensed CC0.

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