Image courtesy of EPFL
Researchers in Switzerland have developed a variable stiffness catheter that can transition between soft and rigid states.
A team of researchers from technical university EPFL and ETH Zurich developed the catheter to make minimally invasive surgical interventions like cardiac arrhythmia treatment, simpler and more effective.
Catheters are inserted into arteries and navigated to treatment zones in many minimally invasive procedures. They can provide access to the heart without having to perform open-heart surgery. However, catheters can come with limitations.
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