The association between experience and proficiency with robotic-enhanced coronary intervention—insights from the PRECISE multi-center study

Narrative review of latest research progress about robotic percutaneous coronary intervention

Robotic percutaneous coronary intervention (R-PCI) is a novel technology in which operators can manipulate guidewires and catheter devices in interventional cardiology. This approach provides great benefits to interventional cardiologists in terms of reducing both radiation exposure and orthopedic injuries. Several large, high-quality cohort studies have confirmed the short-term safety and high technical success rate of R-PCI. However, randomized long-term data are still needed before adopting them as part of standard coronary interventions. Furthermore, tele-stenting for complex coronary lesions has significant potential for R-PCI. We need to overcome the present relevant challenges for its application such as inherent delays, bedside care for unstable patients from R-PCIs to manual PCIs (M-PCIs), incompatibility for a thrombus aspiration catheter and heavily calcified lesions. There is a great future in laboratory workflow teams, 3D-printed anatomical models and multiple joint collaborative control algorithms. This narrative review summarizes the latest developments in R-PCI, with a focus on developments in robotic technology, and discusses the current and future potential use of R-PCI in clinical practice globally.

Robotic Assisted Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Initial Australian Experience

BACKGROUND & AIM

Robotic-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention (R-PCI) has been increasingly performed overseas. Initial observations have demonstrated its clinical efficacy and safety with additional potential benefits of more accurate lesion assessment and stent deployment, with reduced radiation exposure to operators and patients. However, data from randomised controlled trials or clinical experience from Australia are lacking.

METHODS

This was a single-centre experience of all patients undergoing R-PCI as part of the run-in phase for an upcoming randomised clinical trial (ACTRN12623000480684). All R-PCI procedures were performed using the CorPath GRX robot (Corindus Vascular Robotics, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA). Key inclusion criteria included patients with obstructive coronary disease requiring percutaneous coronary intervention. Major exclusion criteria included ST-elevation myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock or lesions deemed unsuitable for R-PCI by the operator. Clinical success was defined as residual stenosis <30% without in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Technical success was defined as the completion of the R-PCI procedure without unplanned manual conversion. Procedural characteristics were compared between early (cases 1-3) and later (cases 4-21) cases.

RESULTS

Twenty-one (21) patients with a total of 24 lesions were analysed. The mean age of patients was 66.5 years, and 66% of cases were male. Radial access was used in 18 cases (86%). Most lesions were American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology class B2/C (66%). Clinical success was achieved in 100% with manual conversion required in four cases (19%). No procedural complications or in-hospital MACE occurred. Compared to the early cases, later cases had a statistically significantly shorter fluoroscopy time (44.0mins vs 25.2mins, p<0.007), dose area product (967.3 dGy.cm2 vs 361.0dGy.cm2, p=0.01) and air kerma (2484.3mGy vs 797.4mGy, p=0.009) with no difference in contrast usage (136.7mL vs 131.4mL, p=0.88).

CONCLUSIONS

We present the first clinical experience of R-PCI in Australia using the Corindus CorPath GRX robot. We achieved clinical success in all patients and technical success in the majority of cases with no procedural complications or in-hospital MACE. With increasing operator and staff experience, cases required shorter fluoroscopy time and less radiation exposure but similar contrast usage.

Evaluation of effectiveness and safety of the CorPath GRX robotic system in endovascular embolization procedures of cerebral aneurysms

BACKGROUND

Robotic-assisted neurointervention was recently introduced, with implications that it could be used to treat neurovascular diseases.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the robotic-assisted platform CorPath GRX for treating cerebral aneurysms.

METHODS

This prospective, international, multicenter study enrolled patients with brain aneurysms that required endovascular coiling and/or stent-assisted coiling. The primary effectiveness endpoint was defined as successful completion of the robotic-assisted endovascular procedure without any unplanned conversion to manual treatment with guidewire or microcatheter navigation, embolization coil(s) or intracranial stent(s) deployment, or an inability to navigate vessel anatomy. The primary safety endpoint included intraprocedural and periprocedural events.

RESULTS

The study enrolled 117 patients (74.4% female) with mean age of 56.6 years from 10 international sites,. Headache was the most common presenting symptom in 40/117 (34.2%) subjects. Internal carotid artery was the most common location (34/122, 27.9%), and the mean aneurysm height and neck width were 5.7±2.6 mm and 3.5±1.4 mm, respectively. The overall procedure time was 117.3±47.3 min with 59.4±32.6 min robotic procedure time. Primary effectiveness was achieved in 110/117 (94%) subjects with seven subjects requiring conversion to manual for procedure completion. Only four primary safety events were recorded with two intraprocedural aneurysm ruptures and two strokes. A Raymond-Roy Classification Scale score of 1 was achieved in 71/110 (64.5%) subjects, and all subjects were discharged with a modified Rankin Scale score of ≤2.

CONCLUSIONS

This first-of-its-kind robotic-assisted neurovascular trial demonstrates the effectiveness and safety of the CorPath GRX System for endovascular embolization of cerebral aneurysm procedures.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT04236856.

Safety and effectiveness of introducing a robotic-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention program in a tertiary center: a prospective study

BACKGROUND

Robotic-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a novel technology that permits remote operation of interventional devices. However, little is known about the safety and effectiveness of introducing a robotic PCI program in a hospital already experienced in traditional coronary angioplasty.

METHODS

Prospective single-arm survey to assess the safety and effectiveness of robotic-assisted PCI in comparison to pre-defined performance goals. The study cohort comprised all consecutive cases treated with robotic PCI since its introduction. The safety primary endpoint was a composite of (I) overall death or (II) non-fatal adverse events related to target vessel complications (stent thrombosis, myocardial infarction, vessel perforation or cardiac tamponade, or repeat invasive treatment) during the index hospitalization. The efficacy primary endpoint was robotic-assisted procedural success, a composite of (I) successful dilatation of the target lesion and (II) successful robotic assistance, defined as absent non-planned manual conversion.

RESULTS

A total of 83 patients and 112 lesions were prospectively enrolled. The rate of angiographic success was 99.1%. From these, 97 lesions (86.6%) were treated with only robotic PCI or with hybrid according to the pre-interventional plan. The rates of efficacy and safety primary endpoints were 85.7% and 2.4% respectively (P<0.01 for non-inferior to the pre-defined performance threshold).

CONCLUSIONS

Introduction of robotic-assisted PCI in a tertiary center was associated with safe and effective results, comparable to pre-defined goals of optimal performance.

A Novel Robotic Control System Mimics Doctor’s Operation to Assist Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Objectives: The use of current robotic systems to assist in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) fundamentallydiffers from performing conventional PCI. To overcome this problem, we developed a novel master-slave roboticcontrol system to assist in PCI, and evaluated its safety and feasibility in the delivery and manipulation of coronaryguidewires in vitro and in vivo.Methods: The novel robotic assist PCI system is composed of three parts: 1) a master actuator, which imitates thetraditional torque used by surgeons in conventional PCI, 2) a slave actuator, including a guidewire delivery system andforce monitoring equipment, and 3) a local area network based communication system.Results: The experiment was performed in six pigs. Both robotic and manual control completed the operation with no device- or procedure-associated complications. An experienced interventional cardiologist who was a first-time userof the novel robotic PCI system was able to advance the guidewire into a distal branch of a coronary artery within asimilar time to that required with the manual procedure.Conclusion: This early in vivo experiment with the novel robotic assisted PCI control system demonstrated that its feasibility, safety, and procedural effectiveness are comparable to those of manual operation. The novel robotic-assisted PCI control system required significantly less time to learn than other currently available systems.

Robot-assisted carotid artery stenting: outcomes, safety, and operational learning curve

OBJECTIVE

Over the past 2 decades, robots have been increasingly used in surgeries to help overcome human limitations and perform precise and accurate tasks. Endovascular robots were pioneered in interventional cardiology, however, the CorPath GRX was recently approved by the FDA for peripheral vascular and extracranial interventions. The authors aimed to evaluate the operational learning curve for robot-assisted carotid artery stenting over a period of 19 months at a single institution.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained database was conducted, and 14 consecutive patients who underwent robot-assisted carotid artery stenting from December 2019 to June 2021 were identified. The metrics for proficiency were the total fluoroscopy and procedure times, contrast volume used, and radiation dose. To evaluate operator progress, the patients were divided into 3 groups of 5, 4, and 5 patients based on the study period.

RESULTS

A total of 14 patients were included. All patients received balloon angioplasty and stent placement. The median degree of stenosis was 95%. Ten patients (71%) were treated via the transradial approach and 4 patients (29%) via the transfemoral approach, with no procedural complications. The median contrast volume used was 80 mL, and the median radiation dose was 38,978.5 mGy/cm2. The overall median fluoroscopy and procedure times were 24.6 minutes and 70.5 minutes, respectively. Subgroup analysis showed a significant decrease in these times, from 32 minutes and 86 minutes, respectively, in group 1 to 21.9 minutes and 62 minutes, respectively, in group 3 (p = 0.002 and p = 0.008, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Robot-assisted carotid artery stenting was found to be safe and effective, and the learning curve for robotic procedures was overcome within a short period of time at a high-volume cerebrovascular center.

Latest Developments in Robotic Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Interventional cardiovascular medicine has seen constant progress over the last few decades. Since the first angiograms and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty were carried out, this progress has been tremendous and has led to a substantial decline in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this article is to report and review the latest developments and evidence in robotics-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention (rPCI) and its potential future applications, opportunities, and limitations. Contemporary evidence shows that rPCI can lead to a significant reduction in radiation exposure as well as medical hazards for cardiologists. Rates of device and procedural success remain high and there is no evidence of a disadvantage for the patient. The accuracy of implantation with a reduced geographic mismatch is a further advantage that can result in a higher quality of treatment. Even in complex coronary lesions and procedures, rPCI seems to be safe and efficient. The latest developments include telestenting over hundreds of kilometers from a remote platform. Currently, the main limitations are the absence of large-scale randomized trials for the valid assessment of the benefits and disadvantages of rPCI as well as the technical limitations of the currently available rPCI systems. rPCI is a forward-looking innovation in cardiology that is applicable to a wide range of coronary interventions. Despite the present lack of knowledge and the limited data concerning the outcome for the patient, the available literature reveals promising results that should lead to improvements for physicians and patients.

Use of robotic assistance to reduce proximity and air-sharing during percutaneous cardiovascular intervention

Aim: Traditional percutaneous cardiovascular interventions require close physical proximity between the patients and the healthcare team, posing occupational hazards that range from radiation exposure to interpersonal air contamination. Materials & methods: Prospective single-arm pilot study (n = 10) to investigate robotic-assisted intervention as a strategy to reduce proximity during the procedure. Primary end point: composite of angiographic success, intervention performed with the team positioned >2 meters from the patient for ≥50% procedure duration, and absence of in-hospital death or acute target lesion occlusion. Results: The composite primary end point was achieved in 100% of cases. Conclusion: Robotic-assisted percutaneous intervention provided successful invasive treatment while reducing proximity and shared air space between the care-delivery team and the patient during the procedure. Trial registration number: NCT04379453 (Clinicaltrials.gov).

Successful introduction of robotic-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention system into Japanese clinical practice: a first-year survey at single center

In Japan, a robotic-assisted PCI (R-PCI) system, the CorPath GRX System (Corindus Inc.), has been approved for clinical use in 2018, which is the first introduction of R-PCI into Japan. In this study, the clinical performance of the R-PCI system in the initial year at Kurume University Hospital was evaluated comparing with conventional manual PCI (M-PCI). A total of 30 R-PCI and 77 M-PCI procedures performed between April 2019 and March 2020, were retrospectively included. The primary outcome was the rate of clinical success defined as < 30% residual stenosis without in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). The secondary outcomes were fluoroscopy time, dose area product (DAP), amount of radiation exposure to operators and assistants, procedural time, and contrast volume. Propensity-matching technique was used to match each R-PCI lesion to the nearest M-PCI lesion without replacement. After propensity score matching, 30 R-PCI procedures in 28 patients and 37 M-PCI procedures in 35 patients were analyzed. Clinical success rate with R-PCI was favorable and comparable to M-PCI (93.3 vs. 94.6%, p = 0.97), without any in-hospital MACE. The operator radiation exposure was significantly lower in R-PCI (0 vs. 24.5 µSV, p < 0.0001). Radiation exposure to the patients was tended to be reduced by R-PCI (DAP: 77.6 vs. 100.2 Gycm², p = 0.07). There were no statistically significant differences in radiation exposure to the assistant, fluoroscopy time, procedural time and contrast volume between the two groups (radiation exposure to the assistant: 10.5 vs. 10.0 µSV, p = 0.64, fluoroscopy time: 27.5 vs. 30.1 min, p = 0.55, procedural time: 72.4 vs. 61.6 min, p = 0.23, and contrast volume: 93.2 vs. 102.0 ml, p = 0.36). R-PCI in selected patients demonstrated favorable clinical outcomes with dramatical reduction of radiation exposure to operators.

Robotic-assisted intervention strategy to minimize air exposure during the procedure: a case report of myocardial infarction and COVID-19

Percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) is traditionally a manual procedure executed by one or more operators positioned at a close distance from the patient. The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has imposed severe restrictions to such an interventional environment. The novel SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is transmitted mainly through expelled respiratory particles, which are known to travel approximately 3-6 feet away from infected persons. During PCI, that contamination range obligatorily poses the team and the patient to direct air exposure. We herein present a case report with the description of a minimum-contact strategy to reduce interpersonal air exposure during PCI. The approach designed to minimize proximity between the patient and the healthcare team included the performance of robotic-assisted PCI, operated by unscrubbed cardiac interventionalists from a control cockpit located outside the catheterization suite. Also included, was the delineation of the potential zone of respiratory particle spread; a circle measuring 4 meters (13.1 feet) in diameter was traced on the floor of the cath lab with red tape, centered on the patient's mouth and nose. The team was rigorously trained and advised to minimize time spent within the 4-meter perimeter as much as possible during the procedure. Following this strategy, a 60-year-old male with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction and COVID-19 was treated with successful coronary implantation of two stents in the obtuse marginal branch and one stent in the circumflex artery. The total duration of the procedure was 103 minutes and 22 seconds. During most of the procedure, the 4-meter spread zone was not entered by any personnel. For each individual team member, the proposed strategy was effective in ensuring that they stayed outside of the 4-meter area for the majority of their work time, ranging from 96.9% to 59.7% of their respective participation. This case report illustrates the potential of robotic-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention in reducing physical proximity between the team and the patient during the procedure.

Initial Experience in a Pig Model of Robotic-Assisted Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) Embolization

BACKGROUND

Robotic assistance for coronary and peripheral vascular pathologies is steadily gaining popularity. However, it has yet to be applied to neurovascular intervention.

OBJECTIVE

To establish the feasibility of the CorPath® GRX robotic-assisted platform (Corindus Inc, Waltham, Massachusetts) for intracranial arteriovenous malformation (AVM) embolization.

METHODS

This robotic system was used to embolize intracranial AVMs (n = 4) in 2 anesthetized pigs, under controlled conditions appropriate for clinical intervention. Initially, a catheter was manually introduced into the common carotid artery (CCA). Then, the robotic system was used to advance the catheter into the ascending pharyngeal artery (APA) towards the rete mirabilis, which was used as a model for an AVM, using 0.014 in guidewires and 2.4F/1.7F microcatheters. After doing a pre-embolization APA run, which demonstrated good visualization of the rete, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was instilled into the microcatheter. A negative roadmap was then done, and Onyx was used to embolize the rete.

RESULTS

All 4 AVMs were completely obliterated with no complications, including no contrast extravasation, dissection, thrombosis, or other vascular injury.

CONCLUSION

This study is the first to demonstrate the feasibility of a robotic-assisted platform for intracranial AVM embolization.

Initial report of safety and procedure duration of robotic-assisted chronic total occlusion coronary intervention

BACKGROUND

No previous reports have examined the impact of robotic-assisted (RA) chronic total occlusion (CTO) PCI on procedural duration or safety compared to totally manual CTO PCI.

METHODS

Among 95 patients who underwent successful PCI of a single CTO lesion at two centers, 49 (52%) were performed RA and were performed 46 (48%) totally manually. Cockpit time was the time the primary operator entered to robotic cockpit until the procedure was complete. "Theoretical" cockpit time in the control group was time the primary operator would have entered the cockpit after lesion crossing until the procedure was complete. Major adverse events (MAEs) were the composite of death, myocardial infarction, clinical perforation, significant vessel dissection, arrhythmia, acute thrombosis, and stroke.

RESULTS

The lesion characteristics, procedural time, and contrast dose were similar. All procedures except for one (2%) selected for robotic completion after lesion crossing were completed successfully. The frequency of MAE was similar between groups and there were no in-hospital deaths. The cockpit time was 8 min longer in RA CTO PCI than the theoretical cockpit time in totally manual CTO PCI (40.6 ± 12.7 vs. 32.1 ± 17.8, p < .01).

CONCLUSION

RA CTO PCI was not associated with excess adverse events compared with totally manual CTO PCI and resulted in an average 41 min cockpit time equaling to 48% of procedure time without radiation exposure or requirement for the primary operator to wear a lead apron. Understanding the relationship between cockpit time and reductions in radiation exposure and lead apron-related orthopedic complications for operators requires future study.

Cath Lab Robotics: Paradigm Change in Interventional Cardiology?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To review the contemporary evidence for robotic-assisted percutaneous coronary and vascular interventions, discussing its current capabilities, limitations, and potential future applications.

RECENT FINDINGS

Robotic-assisted cardiovascular interventions significantly reduce radiation exposure and orthopedic strains for interventionalists, while maintaining high rates of device and clinical success. The PRECISE and CORA-PCI studies demonstrated the safety and efficacy of robotic-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in increasingly complex coronary lesions. The RAPID study demonstrated similar findings in peripheral vascular interventions (PVI). Subsequent studies have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of second-generation devices, with automations mimicking manual PCI techniques. While innovations such as telestenting continue to bring excitement to the field, major limitations remain-particularly the lack of randomized trials comparing robotic-assisted PCI with manual PCI. Robotic technology has successfully been applied to multiple cardiovascular procedures. There are limited data to evaluate outcomes with robotic-assisted PCI and other robotic-assisted cardiovascular procedures, but existing data show some promise of improving the precision of PCI while decreasing occupational hazards associated with radiation exposure.

Feasibility and safety of robotic PCI in China: first in man experience in Asia

Objectives

To evaluate the feasibility and safety of a second generation robotic percutaneous coronary intervention (R-PCI) system in China.

Background

Robotic PCI has been shown to be an effective method for conducting coronary interventions. It has further benefits of more accurate lesion measurement, improved stent deployment, reduced incidence of geographic miss and reduction of operator radiation exposure.

Methods

This single center evaluation enrolled 10 consecutive patients who had been selected for PCI. Clinical success was defined as residual stenosis < 30% and no in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events. Learning curve effect was assessed by comparing efficiency metrics of early vs. later cases.

Results

Eleven lesions were treated all successfully without manual interruption or MACE events. Most lesions (63%) were ACC/AHA class B2 and C. Mean procedure time was 57.7 ± 26.4 min, however two procedures were part of live demonstrations. Excluding the two live cases, the mean procedure time was 51.8 ± 23.7 min. Procedural efficiency tended to improve from early cases to later cases based on PCI time (48.3 ± 32.9 vs. 25.5 ± 13.0 min, P = 0.27), fluoroscopy time (20.3 ± 8.2 vs. 12.5 ± 4.6 min, P = 0.16), contrast volume (145.0 ± 28.9 vs. 102.5 ± 17.1 mL, P = 0.05) and Air Kerma dose (1932 ± 978 vs. 1007 ± 70 mGy, P = 0.31).

Conclusions

Second generation robotic PCI was safe, effective and there were trends toward improvements in procedural efficiency during this early experience in China.

Robotics in percutaneous cardiovascular interventions

INTRODUCTION

The fundamental technique of performing percutaneous cardiovascular (CV) interventions has remained unchanged and requires operators to wear heavy lead aprons to minimize exposure to ionizing radiation. Robotic technology is now being utilized in interventional cardiology partially as a direct result of the increasing appreciation of the long-term occupational hazards of the field. This review was undertaken to report the clinical outcomes of percutaneous robotic coronary and peripheral vascular interventions. Areas covered: A systematic literature review of percutaneous robotic CV interventions was undertaken. The safety and feasibility of percutaneous robotically-assisted CV interventions has been validated in simple to complex coronary disease, and iliofemoral disease. Studies have shown that robotically-assisted PCI significantly reduces operator exposure to harmful ionizing radiation without compromising procedural success or clinical efficacy. In addition to the operator benefits, robotically-assisted intervention has the potential for patient advantages by allowing more accurate lesion length measurement, precise stent placement and lower patient radiation exposure. However, further investigation is required to fully elucidate these potential benefits. Expert commentary: Incremental improvement in robotic technology and telecommunications would enable treatment of an even broader patient population, and potentially provide remote robotic PCI.