Talk #4: Surgical Robotics

Towards clinical validation of a continuum surgical robotic system

Tuesday, 12.09.2023, 10:45 – 11:45
Andreas-Pfitzmann-Bau APB/E023

by Christos Bergeles

Christos Bergeles is a Reader (Associate Professor) of Surgical Robotics at the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences of King’s College London. He received his Ph.D. degree in Robotics from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, in 20112. He was a postdoctoral research fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts, and the Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, Imperial College, United Kingdom. He is leading the Robotics and Vision in Medicine Lab, and is Deputy Director for the Manufacturing of Advanced Implants and Surgical Instruments facility.

His research interests include micro-surgical robotics and interventional visual servoing. Specifically, with his team they are exploring ways to develop image-guided micro-precise instruments and multi-sensory guidance algorithms to achieve impossible interventions and regenerative therapies deep inside the human body. He has held an ERC Starting Grant, and translational research funding from the National Institutes from Health Research. He is currently holding an EIC Pathfinder and ERC Proof of Concept grant. He is an IEEE Senior Member.

Abstract

Flexible surgical robots can navigate complex anatomical pathways to reach deep seated pathologies in the human body. They can act as steerable needles when traversing tissue, or as dexterous end effectors when they operate within cavities. Our research focuses primarily on concentric tube robots, a class of continuum robots, within open cavities such as the brain ventricles, the human eye, etc. The seminar will discuss advances in robot design, engineering, and control, alongside quality management considerations that underpin the future clinical translation of such systems.