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Head of Group

Prof Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena

B415C Bessemer Building

South Kensington Campus

 

About us

The MIM Lab develops robotic and mechatronics surgical systems for a variety of procedures.

Research lab info

What we do

The Mechatronics in Medicine Laboratory develops robotic and mechatronics surgical systems for a variety of procedures including neuro, cardiovascular, orthopaedic surgeries, and colonoscopies. Examples include bio-inspired catheters that can navigate along complex paths within the brain (such as EDEN2020), soft robots to explore endoluminal anatomies (such as the colon), and virtual reality solutions to support surgeons during knee replacement surgeries.

Why it is important?

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How can it benefit patients?

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Meet the team

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  • Journal article
    Bernardini A, Trovatelli M, Klosowski M, Pederzani M, Zani D, Brizzola S, Porter A, Rodriguez y Baena F, Dini Det al., 2022,

    Reconstruction of ovine axonal cytoarchitecture enables more accurate models of brain biomechanics

    , Communications Biology, Vol: 5, ISSN: 2399-3642

    There is an increased need and focus to understand how local brain microstructure affects the transport of drug molecules directly administered to the brain tissue, for example in convection-enhanced delivery procedures. This study reports a systematic attempt to characterize the cytoarchitecture of commissural, long association and projection fibres, namely the corpus callosum, the fornix and the corona radiata, with the specific aim to map different regions of the tissue and provide essential information for the development of accurate models of brain biomechanics. Ovine samples are imaged using scanning electron microscopy combined with focused ion beam milling to generate 3D volume reconstructions of the tissue at subcellular spatial resolution. Focus is placed on the characteristic cytological feature of the white matter: the axons and their alignment in the tissue. For each tract, a 3D reconstruction of relatively large volumes, including a significant number of axons, is performed and outer axonal ellipticity, outer axonal cross-sectional area and their relative perimeter are measured. The study of well-resolved microstructural features provides useful insight into the fibrous organization of the tissue, whose micromechanical behaviour is that of a composite material presenting elliptical tortuous tubular axonal structures embedded in the extra-cellular matrix. Drug flow can be captured through microstructurally-based models using 3D volumes, either reconstructed directly from images or generated in silico using parameters extracted from the database of images, leading to a workflow to enable physically-accurate simulations of drug delivery to the targeted tissue.

  • Journal article
    Donder A, Rodriguez y Baena F, 2022,

    Kalman filter-based, dynamic 3-D shape reconstruction for steerable needles with fiber bragg gratings in multi-core fibers

    , IEEE Transactions on Robotics, Vol: 38, Pages: 2262-2275, ISSN: 1552-3098

    Steerable needles are a promising technology toprovide safe deployment of tools through complex anatomy inminimally invasive surgery, including tumor-related diagnosesand therapies. For the 3-D localization of these instruments in softtissue, fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs)-based reconstruction methodshave gained in popularity because of the inherent advantages ofoptical fibers in a clinical setting, such as flexibility, immunity toelectromagnetic interference, non-toxicity, the absence of line ofsight issues. However, methods proposed thus far focus on shapereconstruction of the steerable needle itself, where accuracy issusceptible to errors in interpolation and curve fitting methodsused to estimate the curvature vectors along the needle. In thisstudy, we propose reconstructing the shape of the path createdby the steerable needle tip based on the follow-the-leader natureof many of its variants. By assuming that the path made by thetip is equivalent to the shape of the needle, this novel approachpaves the way for shape reconstruction through a single set ofFBGs at the needle tip, which provides curvature informationabout every section of the path during navigation. We proposea Kalman Filter-based sensor fusion method to update thecurvature information about the sections as they are continuallyestimated during the insertion process. The proposed methodis validated through simulation, in vitro and ex vivo experimentsemploying a programmable bevel-tip steerable needle (PBN). Theresults show clinically acceptable accuracy, with 2.87 mm meanPBN tip position error, and a standard deviation of 1.63 mm fora 120 mm 3-D insertion.

  • Journal article
    Jamal A, Yuan T, Galvan S, Castellano A, Riva M, Secoli R, Falini A, Bello L, Rodriguez y Baena F, Dini Det al., 2022,

    Insights into infusion-based targeted drug delivery in brain: perspectives, challenges and opportunities

    , International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Vol: 23, Pages: 3139-3139, ISSN: 1422-0067

    Targeted drug delivery in the brain is instrumental in the treatment of lethal brain diseases, such as glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive primary central nervous system tumour in adults. Infusion-based drug delivery techniques, which directly administer to the tissue for local treatment, as in convection-enhanced delivery (CED), provide an important opportunity; however, poor understanding of the pressure-driven drug transport mechanisms in the brain has hindered its ultimate success in clinical applications. In this review, we focus on the biomechanical and biochemical aspects of infusion-based targeted drug delivery in the brain and look into the underlying molecular level mechanisms. We discuss recent advances and challenges in the complementary field of medical robotics and its use in targeted drug delivery in the brain. A critical overview of current research in these areas and their clinical implications is provided. This review delivers new ideas and perspectives for further studies of targeted drug delivery in the brain.

  • Journal article
    Darwood A, Hurst SA, Villatte G, Tatti F, El Daou H, Reilly P, Baena FRY, Majed A, Emery Ret al., 2022,

    Novel robotic technology for the rapid intraoperative manufacture of patient-specific instrumentation allowing for improved glenoid component accuracy in shoulder arthroplasty: a cadaveric study

    , JOURNAL OF SHOULDER AND ELBOW SURGERY, Vol: 31, Pages: 561-570, ISSN: 1058-2746
  • Journal article
    Franco E, Garriga Casanovas A, Tang J, Rodriguez y Baena F, Astolfi Aet al., 2022,

    Adaptive energy shaping control of a class of nonlinear soft continuum manipulators

    , IEEE-ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, Vol: 27, Pages: 280-291, ISSN: 1083-4435

    Soft continuum manipulators are characterized by low stiffness which allows safe operation in unstructured environments but introduces under-actuation. In addition, soft materials such as silicone rubber, which are commonly used for soft manipulators, are characterized by nonlinear stiffness, while pneumatic actuation can result in nonlinear damping. Consequently, achieving accurate control of these systems in the presence of disturbances is a challenging task. This paper investigates the model-based adaptive control for soft continuum manipulators that have nonlinear uniform stiffness and nonlinear damping, that bend under the effect of internal pressure, and that are subject to time-varying disturbances. A rigid-link model with virtual elastic joints is employed for control purposes within the port-Hamiltonian framework. The effects of disturbances and of model uncertainties are estimated adaptively. A nonlinear controller that regulates the tip orientation of the manipulator and that compensates the effects of disturbances and of model uncertainties is then constructed by using an energy shaping passivity-based approach. Stability conditions are discussed highlighting the beneficial role of nonlinear damping. The effectiveness of the controller is assessed with simulations and with experiments on a soft continuum manipulator prototype.

  • Journal article
    Hu X, Rodriguez y Baena F, Cutolo F, 2022,

    Head-Mounted Augmented Reality Platform for Markerless Orthopaedic Navigation

    , IEEE JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH INFORMATICS, Vol: 26, Pages: 910-921, ISSN: 2168-2194
  • Journal article
    Bautista-Salinas D, Abdelaziz MEMK, Temelkuran B, Yeatman EM, Huins CT, Rodriguez y Baena Fet al., 2022,

    Towards a Functional Atraumatic Self-Shaping Cochlear Implant

    , MACROMOLECULAR MATERIALS AND ENGINEERING, Vol: 307, ISSN: 1438-7492
  • Journal article
    Hu X, Anh N, Rodriguez y Baena F, 2022,

    Occlusion-Robust Visual Markerless Bone Tracking for Computer-Assisted Orthopedic Surgery

    , IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INSTRUMENTATION AND MEASUREMENT, Vol: 71, ISSN: 0018-9456
  • Conference paper
    Iqbal H, Rodriguez y Baena F, 2022,

    Semi-Automatic Infrared Calibration for Augmented Reality Systems in Surgerye

    , IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Publisher: IEEE, Pages: 4957-4964, ISSN: 2153-0858
  • Conference paper
    Garriga-Casanovas A, Treratanakulchai S, Franco E, Zari E, Ferrandy V, Virdyawan V, Baena FRYet al., 2022,

    Optimised Design and Performance Comparison of Soft Robotic Manipulators

    , 7th International Conference on Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research (ICMERR), Publisher: IEEE, Pages: 129-136

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