Cardiac ablation (CA) is an interventional electrophysiological procedure used to disrupt arrhythmic substrates in the myocardium by inducing localized scarring. Current CA training relies on the master–apprentice model. In different fields of medicine including CA, virtual and physical simulators have proven to enhance, and even outperform, conventional training modalities while providing a risk-free learning environment. Despite the benefits, high costs and operational difficulties limit the widespread use of interventional simulators. Our previous research introduced a low-cost CA simulator using a 3D-printed biatrial cardiac model, successfully recording ten ablation lesions on the phantom myocardium. In this work, we present and evaluate an enhanced version: compared to the previous version, the cardiac phantom’s electrical behavior and ablation settings were optimized to produce consistent lesions, while 3D-printed components improved the haptic and radiographic properties of the simulator. Seven cardiologists compared the experimental simulator’s performance to the leading commercial system from Heartroid in a 24-question survey on a 5-point Likert scale. The four following areas of fidelity were considered: catheter entry, anatomical correctness, radiographic appearance, and mapping and ablation. The experimental simulator significantly outperformed the commercial system (p < 0.01), particularly in radiographic appearance (p < 0.01). The results show the potential for the experimental simulator in routine CA training.

Atrial fibrillation, the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmia, is treated by catheter ablation to isolate electrical triggers. Clinical trials on robotic catheter systems hold promise for improving the safety and efficacy of the procedure. However, expense and proprietary designs hinder accessibility to such systems. This paper details an open-source, modular, three-degree-of-freedom robotic platform for teleoperating commercial ablation catheters through joystick navigation. We also demonstrate a catheter-agnostic handle interface permitting customization with commercial catheters. Collaborating clinicians performed benchtop targeting trials, comparing manual and robotic catheter navigation performance. The robot reduced task duration by 1.59 s across participants and five trials. Validation through mean motion jerk analysis revealed 35.2% smoother robotic navigation for experts (≥10 years experience) compared to the intermediate group. Yet, both groups achieved smoother robot motion relative to the manual approach, with the experts and intermediates exhibiting 42.2% and 13.6% improvements, respectively. These results highlight the potential of this system for enhancing catheter-based procedures. The source code and designs of CardioXplorer have been made publicly available to lower boundaries and drive innovations that enhance procedure efficacy beyond human capabilities.

Purpose :: Femoral vascular access is a common and often crucial step for cardiovascular intervention. With the growing demand for treatment, increasing pressure is placed on centres to develop new technologies and train more operators. Phantoms have been shown to have positive impacts on training across multiple fields of medicine. Methods :: Using an informed selection of materials, a vascularised leg phantom was developed in collaboration with clinicians. The material properties were investigated and the ability of the phantom to withstand multiple needle punctures was examined. The phantom was then evaluated in a training workshop with 18 medical students, tracking their procedural time before and after 5 minutes of practice. In a separate evaluation, the phantom was demonstrated to 31 medical educators who provided structured feedback using a 7-question survey via a 5-point Likert scale. Results :: Material analysis showed that the phantom had a OO shore hardness of 18.0±2.2, a speed of sound of 1454±15m/s, and could recover from 18-20G needle damage within three hours. Results showed that most students improved their vascular access time by over 60\% after 5 minutes of free practice on the phantom. Most educators said that they would use this phantom for training operators before and whilst training on patients. The total material costs for this phantom were £7.87, yet medical educators valued it at £100-£500 on average. Conclusion :: The methods hereby described propose a viable solution for crafting custom vascular access phantoms for industrial manufacturers, research centres, and training centres with manufacturing capabilities, costing many times less than existing commercial solutions. The phantom was shown to have a positive impact on students, and educators reported they would use it for training. Beyond education, the realistic anatomy, physical properties, and training capabilities achieved with these simple low-cost methods could find numerous applications in academic or industrial research.

Ultrasound-guided femoral vascular access (UFVA) is a crucial step in cardiovascular intervention, yet training models remain costly, anatomically limited, or insufficiently durable. This research aimed to develop and evaluate a reusable, self-healing vascularised leg phantom in collaboration with clinicians. This bifurcating vascular model was cast in Plastisol using a customisable silicone mould design. The material exhibited a Shore OO hardness of 18.0 ± 2.2, a speed of sound of 1454 ± 15 m/s, an acoustic attenuation of 1.66 ± 0.02 × 106 kg/m²s, and healed 18G needle lesions within 3 h. Training capabilities were evaluated in a workshop involving 18 medical students: FVA times improved by more than 60% after 5 min of free practice. Qualitative feedback was collected from 31 medical educators via a seven-question Likert survey, with most reporting they would adopt the phantom for teaching. Phantoms cost £7.87 for materials, yet educators valued the models at £100–£500, underscoring its perceived utility. Compared to commercial alternatives, this in-house production approach reduced costs by 10–60 times, achieving comparable durability and anatomical fidelity. This study establishes a scalable, ultra-low-cost method for producing anatomically realistic, self-healing vascular phantoms, validated for effective skill acquisition in both educational and research settings.