Performance Improvement for Catheter Ablation Assembly Using an Effect Solving Method

Abstract

Abstract Catheter ablation has become more prevalent in recent years because it has successfully modified or eliminated certain heart rhythm disorders. The device is used to reach the heart through a venous blood vessel with a size of 2.0-3.5 cm; hence the design of the device's motion mechanism parts must be compact and delicate. This project focuses on improving the motion control of wire assembly device for making catheter ablation. The main contribution of this manuscript is to design a new device for the assembly of the wire of catheter ablation by considering effect solving method for product development. Because the existing design has a problem in the difficulty for assembly of the small workpiece, then production process takes longer time and larger workforce demand. At the early step, TRIZ theory was applied to renew the design of the wire-cutting machine by analyzing adverse factors impacting the production process and improving opportunities, including the assembly process of motion control line components. Afterward, Analytic Network Process (ANP) method was adopted to select the best conceptual design with the lowest weight in some parameters. According to the ANP result, the best concept is given in scenario 3 with the lowest score at design difficulty, process difficulty, cost demand, equipment cost, and manufacturing cost by 0.9, 0.9, 0.45, 0.3, and 0.35 respectively. Finally, it is conducted by adding an axis function with an upper and lower cover. Lastly, after applying the new device according to the effect-solving method analysis, it impacted the efficiency percentage of assembly cycle time, equipment demand, and labor by 55%, 57%, and 57%, respectively.