Dr Roger Gassert, Laboratory of Robotic Systems, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, presents this Seminar as part of the Department of Bioengineering Departmental Seminars on; “MRI-Compatible Robotics – A Critical Tool for Image Guided Interventions, Clinical Diagnostics and Neuroscience.”

Robotic systems compatible with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) promise revolutionary interventional robots guided by 3D MRI as well as efficient tools for clinical diagnostics in internal medicine and neurology. Additionally, programmable interfaces for neuroscience studies enable neuroscientists to detect neural activity correlated with repeatable and well-controlled motor tasks, providing behavioural data for modelling and additional interpretation. MRI robotics is a multidisciplinary field, requiring joint work of engineers, physicists, physicians, physiologists and psychologists, and presents many challenges for the development of compatible robotic systems.

In this talk I will discuss safety and compatibility aspects for robotic systems to work in an MR environment, and present the MR-compatible robot technology and haptic interfaces we have developed over the past years. The talk will conclude with an overview of past and ongoing studies with these devices.

Roger Gassert received the MSc degree in microengineering and the PhD degree in robotics and neuroscience from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland in 2002 and 2006, respectively. During his PhD he systematically investigated actuation methods for applications in MR environments, and developed an MR-compatible robotic technology that lead to the first fMRI-compatible haptic interfaces allowing safe and gentle interaction with human motion during functional MRI. These systems are now being used to investigate sensorimotor control and related dysfunctions. His research interests are in assistive devices, medical- and rehabilitation robotics and neuroscience.

Registration required:

No

Free:

Yes