Welcome to my Homepage at the University of Washington, BioRobotics Lab!
BioRobotics Lab Surgical Robot
Click for higher-res
Current Research Interests: (Curriculum Vitae in PDF)
Surgical Robotics, Mobile Robotic Telesurgery, Haptic Interaction and Kinematic Optimization
The constant evolution of the synergy between fundamental science, engineering and medicine provides physicians with improved tools and techniques for delivering patients effective health care. Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques have revolutionized the way a number of surgical procedures are performed. Recent advances in surgical robotics provide a new paradigm to further improve both MIS and open surgery. The benefits of improved healthcare for remote locations are numerous. Mobile robotic telesurgery stands to take telemedicine to the next level. My work in the BioRobotics Lab has focused on the development of a 6-DOF cable-actuated surgical robot system capable of providing all the degrees of freedom of manual MIS as well as wrist joints located at the surgical end-effector. The surgical robot system has the ability to teleoperate utilizing a single bi-directional UDP socket via a remote master device. As a preliminary experiment, the system was deployed into a remote environment (desert) and was powered by gas generators. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) acted as an aerial digital data link to provide connectivity between the surgeon control station and the surgical manipulators. The creation and initial testing of a deployable surgical robot system will facilitate growth in the area of Mobile Robotic Telesurgery (MRT) and eventually lead to future systems saving human lives on the battlefield and in other remote environments.
A view of the Electrical Engineering Building on one of those rare sunny Seattle days!
Older Stuff:
Art 329 - Spring 2001 Homepage
Comments or Questions?
Email me! Mitch Lum