EVALUATION OF FUNNEL SYSTEM FOR GUIDEWIRE INSERTION MEDICAL TRAINING

The performance of guidewire insertion into a funnel was studied to improve a training system for central venous catheterization (CVC). This system, the Advanced Dynamic Haptic Robotic Trainer (DHRT+), uses a 3D printed funnel to redirect an inserted guidewire towards two sensors. With the current funnel design, trainees often encounter issues with the guidewire becoming stuck on the funnel interior. Thus, experimentation was performed to understand how different needle insertion angles and depths affect successful guidewire insertion. It was found that the range of needle insertion angles leading to successful guidewire insertion increased as the distance between the needle tip and ramp increased from 5 mm to 70 mm. For distances above 70 mm, however, the range of acceptable angles decreased because the guidewire buckled on the funnel. Using this experimental data, the performance of the existing DHRT+ funnel design was evaluated. Most of the funnel was found to accept the recommended needle insertion angles for CVC, but complications may arise during guidewire insertion at steeper angles. These results will be used to optimize an improved funnel for guidewire insertion training.