Transseptal puncture (TSP) is a prerequisite for left
atrial catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation, requiring
access from the right side of the heart. It is a demanding
procedural step associated with complications, including
inad- vertent puncturing and application of large forces on
the tissue wall. Robotic systems have shown great potential
to overcome such challenges by introducing force-sensing
capabilities and increased precision and localization
accuracy. Therefore, this work introduces the design and
development of a novel robotic system developed to perform
TSP. We integrated optoelectronic sensors into the tools’
fixtures, measuring tissue contact and puncture forces
along one axis. The novelty of this design is in the
system’s ability to manipulate a Brockenbrough (BRK) needle
and dilator-sheath simultaneously and measure tissue
contact and puncture forces. In performing puncture
experiments on anthropomorphic tissue models, an average
puncture force of 3.97 ± 0.45 N (1SD) was established -
similar to the force reported in literature on the manual
procedure. This research highlights the potential for
improving patient safety by enforcing force constraints,
paving the way to more automated and safer TSP.