Catheter Robotics Inc were awarded the CE mark this week for the Amigo Catheter Robot. Several years in development, the catheter Robot can be used by Electropysiologists in the Cath lab for assisting with EP cases. Assembled in about 30 minutes, the Amigo sits at the foot of the bed and can be utilsed to manouvre catheters which have previously been inserted in to the patient. The Catheter Robot allows an EP physician to use a standard and familiar catheter which can be clicked in to the robot arm at any time during the procedure. By using the Robot, extremely fine movements of the catheter can occur which assists the physician in placing the  catheter at exactly the correct place in the heart. in addition to the fine movements of the catheter, the Robot also allows the EP physician to control the Catheter away from the X-Rays emanating close to where the EP physician ordinarily stands in the Catheter Lab, therefore creating a safer environment in which to work. The Catheter Robot is a new type of Robot which can be placed in an existing Catheter Lab and easily moved out of the way when not in use. Because the Physician can use a familiar catheter, the learning time can be measured in hours rather than weeks. [April 2010]

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