MitraNav: Design and Modeling of a Robotic System for Transseptal Mitral Valve Replacement with Dock Catheter Task-Space Control

PURPOSE: Transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) is a promising therapy for reducing mitral regurgitation in select patients. Direct tip control of multi-segment catheters can simplify manipulation and enable precise, stable positioning. This paper introduces MitraNav, the first robotic system developed for dock-based TMVR, focusing on system design and task-space control of the dock catheter. METHODS: Built on a previously validated guide-sheath robot, MitraNav is upgraded to support concentric multi-catheter manipulation via a unified actuation mechanism. It suits both dock and balloon catheters, enabling all catheter manipulation using a single robotic system. A two-segment bending model maps joint space to task space through an intermediate configuration space. A two-stage control strategy is then applied: joint-space control allows for rapid approach to the mitral annulus, followed by task-space control for direct tip positioning. To improve accuracy and handle joint limits, the task-space controller incorporates Jacobian normalization to balance joint contributions, null-space optimization to regulate joint motion without affecting the primary task, and a PD controller to reduce tracking errors. RESULTS: Trajectory-following experiments demonstrate feasibility of direct tip control, with maximum errors of 2.38 mm, 2.53 mm, and 2.46 mm in three trials. These positional errors are within the range of acceptable accuracy commonly considered for catheter-based cardiac interventions. CONCLUSION: MitraNav represents the foundation for intuitive catheter manipulation and offers the potential for semi-autonomous robotic dock-based TMVR.