Robotic assisted stent insertion for the management of coronary artery disease

Dr James Leung, University of New South Wales

2023 PhD Scholarships

Years funded: 2024 - 2026

We will investigate the potential benefits of robot assisted stent insertion for patients with heart artery blockages. Currently this procedure is performed manually by the doctor, which can be inaccurate and has longer term health consequences for the medical team due to prolonged radiation exposure and musculoskeletal strain from wearing heavy lead protection. We hope to show that robot assisted stent insertion has less radiation exposure for the patient and medical team and is just as safe and effective as procedures performed manually with less physical strain on the medical team. Small trials have been previously been performed overseas to investigate robot assisted stent insertion but none have been based in Australia. We hope to perform the first randomised controlled trial in Australia investigating robot assisted stent insertion.