Results of R&D on catheter-type micromachine

We have developed two catheter-type micromachines as part of the National Micromachine Project. The first catheter-type micromachine can enter through an access hole into a complex machinery system like a steam turbine of the power plant, checks the narrow interior areas and repairs slight damaged points without disassembling the machinery system. We have researched on the function integration technology for assembling many devices and the narrow area repairing technology. The second catheter-type micromachine is a microfine active bending catheter. Three micro-contact sensors, using the multi-function integrated film technology, are placed at the catheter tip, and a shape memory alloy (SMA) wire is incorporated as a bending actuator. At the insertion of the catheter, when the sensor detects a contact with the vascular wall by a controller, the SMA wire is driven automatically to bend to a contact-avoiding direction.