Wearable Robotics - Exoskeletons

Robotic systems that are worn by the human operator as an orthotic devices and used as a human-amplifier, assistive device, haptic device, or for automatic physiotherapy and rehabilitation.

Upper Limb Exoskeleton
Lower Limb Exoskeleton
Muscle Modeling
Kinematics & Dynamics of the Upper Limb

Surgical Robotics

Robotic devices enabling the surgeon to learn and perform minimally invasive and open surgery safely and effectively.

Surgical Robotics - Design, Development & Integration
Telesurgery / Teleoperation
Soft Tissue Biomechanics and Tissue Damage
Surgical Task Decomposition
Objective Assesment of Surgical Skills

Multidimensional Topics

A cluster of research and educational efforts  in Bioengineering, and Biomedical Engineering with a special focus on the human machine interface. 

Haptics
Central Venous Catheter - Training Program
Virtual Reality - Gaming
Orthopedic Implants
Hidden Markov Model Toolbox for Matlab

Meet your next surgeon: Dr. Robot - Fortune Magazine
Jan. 15, 2013

"... The Raven was developed out of robotics labs at the University of Washington and the University of California at Santa Cruz by two engineering professors who initially sought to understand the "language of surgery" by tracking physicians' movements. When the pair were unable to gain access to Intuitive's data, they set out to build their own machine. The result is smaller than a da Vinci -- it can fit on an office desk ..."

Article PDF

Redundancy in Robot Manipulators and Multi-robot systems
Dejan Milutinovic, Jacob Rosen (Editors)

Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, Vol. 57
Publisher: Springer; 1st Edition. (2013)
Hardcover: 241 pages
Language: English
ISBN: 978-3-642-33970-7

Publisher Web Site

The trend in the evolution of robotic systems is that the number of degrees of freedom increases. This is visible both in robot manipulator design and in the shift of focus from single to multi-robot systems. Following the principles of evolution in nature, one may infer that adding degrees of freedom to robot systems design is beneficial. However, since nature did not select snake-like bodies for all creatures, it is reasonable to expect the presence of a certain selection pressure on the number of degrees of freedom. Thus, understanding costs and benefits of multiple degrees of freedom, especially those that create redundancy, is a fundamental problem in the field of robotics.

This volume is mostly based on the works presented at the workshop on Redundancy in Robot Manipulators and Multi-Robot Systems at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems - IROS 2011. The workshopwas envisioned as a dialog between researchers from two separate, but obviously relatedfields of robotics: one that deals with systems having multiple degrees of freedom, including redundant robot manipulators, and the other that deals with multirobot systems. The volume consists of twelve chapters, each representing one of the two fields.

Next Generation Exoskeletons - Printed Article [PDF]

Leslie Mertz
IEEE Pulse July August 2012
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society

Health Care Hero - Silicon Valley Business Journal, May 2012
Research Category: Jacob Rosen Ph.D.

UCSC Press Release

Silicon Valley Business Journal -
Health Care Heroes award winners named

Silicon Valley Business Journal - Printed Article [PDF]

My short speech at the ceremony

"...

I share this honor with three individuals and one institute who made it all possible.

The first individual is Prof. Mircea Arcan, my Ph.D. advisor who is no longer with us. He inherited me the mantra of directing research toward improving the quality of life of people. “You do not have to help humanity”, he once said “just make sure that the outcome of your research will help at least a single person”. As a result I devoted my research career to application of robotics in medicine.

The second individual is Prof. Blake Hannaford, my post-doc advisor, my mentor, and later on my colleague and friend. He though me to dream – dream day and night, all day everyday – dream big, dream wild. At first I used to smile hiding my lough. However when I realized that his dreams are coming through, I started to dream too – bigger and wilder dreams and I will keep doing it for the rest of my life.

The Third individual is Prof. Mika Sinanan – a surgeon in his heart and soul, my clinical mentor, my savior. He though me a lesson about the ultimate dedication, devotion, and hard work. He would show up to our weekly meeting and his pager will buzz. Following a short conversation over the phone he used to say: “You are very dear to me, but my patient is lying on the operating room table and I need to save his life – you will need to excuse me”. I started to work harder with full devotion and dedication while trying to harness all of my engineering skills and put in his hands tools that would make him a better surgeon who may deliver a superior care for his patients.

And the last but not least, the University of California at Santa Cruz, an institution which embraced me into a collegial academic environment that allows me to dream wild, work hard, and affect people's life.

..."

Surgical Robotics
Systems, Applications, and Visions
Jacob Rosen, Blake Hannaford, Richard M. Satava (Editors)

Publisher: Springer; 1st Edition. (November 1, 2010)
Hardcover: 889 pages
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1441911251
ISBN-13: 978-1441911254

Book Web Page
Publisher Web Site

Surgical robotics is a rapidly evolving field. With roots in academic research, surgical robotic systems are now clinically used across a wide spectrum of surgical procedures. Surgical Robotics: Systems Applications and Visions provides a comprehensive view of the field both from the research and clinical perspectives. This volume takes a look at surgical robotics from four different perspectives, addressing vision, systems, engineering development and clinical a pplications of these technologies.

The book also:

• Discusses specific surgical applications of robotics that have already been deployed in operating rooms

• Covers specific engineering breakthroughs that have occurred in surgical robotics

• Details surgical robotic applications in specific disciplines of surgery including orthopedics, urology, cardiac surgery, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, pediatric surgery and general surgery

Surgical Robotics: Systems Applications and Visions is an ideal volume for researchers and engineers working in biomedical engineering.

Armada International
The Incredible Hulks
Thomas Withington
pp. 31-35, Issue 5, Nov/Dec 2010

Article PDF
Online Journal

The Caterpillar P-5000 Power Loader was designed to handle cargo and perform heavy maintenance. In the 1970s, it represented a fine example of the powered exoskeleton, namely a machine which could be worn by a human being as a frame incorporating lumbar support with powered arms, hands, legs
and feet to dramatically increase his natural strength, enabling him to effortlessly lift loads weighing up to four tonnes. However, the only drawback of the P-5000 was that it was not for sale but rather to be the star of James Cameron's 1986 Aliens science-fiction masterpiece.

Several academic insNtutions are performing important research
into powered exoskeletons. One such proiect is being pursued by
the Universily of California's Baskin School of Engineering, which
has developed a set of protolype exoskeleton arms.

Mechanized Medicine
The Intersecting Roles of Human Doctors and Medical Robotics
Singapore Sessions

Wired Magazine Jan. 2011

Article PDF
Online Link (PDF)
Online Link (HTML)


Already hard at work in hospitals around the world, medical
robots are enabling surgeons to perform complex operations
with much success. Infact, these surgical robots equip doctors
with extraordinary precision, providing heightened visual aid,
controlled micro-movements in and around sensitive tissue
structures, and minimally invasive entry points. This r educes
the risk of inf ection and healing time f or patients, translating
to less post-op care-associated costs for providers.
Other robots allow clinicians to work remotely, or enable
supervision and outreach into distant or rural areas, or help
provide basic home care tasks.

Poised to take the next leap, robotics are climbing a
continuum of safer surgeries, earlier interventions, better
patient outcomes, reduced costs, and global access to health
care. And while we are far from a Jetsons-esque culture of
carefree automation, in some ways the adv ent of widespread
medical robotics is finally answering the promise of
technology to improve the quality of human life.

Raven 2 - A Robo-Surgeon That Does the Work of Two Doctors
Popular Science Magazine

Online article
Online article - Gallery: Rise of The Helpful Machines (Image 8 of 10)

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Page Image (PDF)

August, 2010

Turbo Power Physical Therapy
The future of Medicine
Popular Science Magazine

Online article

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July, 2009