Seminar Series
“When the End Effector is a Laser: Next-Generation Surgical Robots for Energy-Based Surgery”
Loris Fichera
Loris Fichera
Associate Professor Department of Robotics Engineering
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Abstract: The central theme of my research is the integration of energy-based instruments in interventional medicine and surgery, driven by the potential to enable new micro- or even non-invasive, lifesaving procedures. In this talk, I will focus specifically on lasers (no pun intended) and their untapped potential in surgery.
Traditionally, lasers in surgery have been mostly limited to tissue cutting (laser scalpels). The robotics community has contributed to this space by developing micro-mechanical systems for accurate, tremor-free laser aiming. However, as medical science evolves, we keep discovering new ways in which laser light can be used for surgical treatment: There are new types of laser-based treatment being pioneered where tumor necrosis – not resection! – is the goal.
For these next-generation treatments to succeed, accurate laser aiming alone is not enough. It is equally critical to monitor and control the complex interactions between laser energy and human tissue. These interactions, however, are notoriously hard to control, both by humans and machines, as they involve fast, highly nonlinear physical phenomena that can be challenging to model and even perceive adequately.
After a brief overview of my work so far on this topic, I will discuss open research questions in sensing and control and connect these questions to current unmet clinical needs. Ultimately, my vision is to enable a new generation of surgical robots capable of autonomously monitoring and controlling surgical laser-tissue interactions. I believe that these robots will help us to fully realize the potential of lasers in surgery, leading to the development of new incision- and blood-less procedures.
Bio: Loris Fichera is an associate professor of Robotics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). His research expertise is in surgical robotics and image-guided surgery. He received a BS/MS in Computer Engineering from the University of Catania, Italy (2011), and a PhD in Robotics from the University of Genova, Italy (joint PhD School with the Italian Institute of Technology, 2015). Prior to joining WPI in 2017, Dr. Fichera was a postdoctoral researcher at Vanderbilt University, where he conducted research on image-guided ear surgery.
Dr. Fichera’s research has been recognized by multiple awards and nominations, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2023), the Best Student Paper Award in the Robotics track at SPIE Medical Imaging 2021 (awarded to one of his students) and the Young Investigator Award of the International Society for Computer-Aided Surgery (ISCAS) in 2016. He was finalist for the Best Medical Robotics Paper Award at ICRA 2015 and for the “Three-in-Five” competition at the Design of Medical Devices Conference (DMD) in 2019. Also in 2019, he received the Rho Beta Epsilon Honor Society Award for Excellence in Robotics Education.
For a zoom link please contact Kate Harrison at kharrison@wpi.edu