My research interests are in the application of robotics and computer science to enhance medicine, and particularly surgery. What gets me out of bed in the morning is the prospect of helping doctors save lives and improve the quality of life of their patients. My students and I work side-to-side with clinical collaborators to create technology that presents a tangible clinical value – for instance, making an existing surgical procedure more accurate or enabling new procedures that are not feasible with current instrumentation. Close interaction with medical doctors is a fundamental component of our research.
Prior to joining WPI I was a Ph.D. student at the Italian Institute of Technology, where I worked in the area of robot-assisted laser microsurgery. My dissertation involved the use of statistical learning techniques to model and control the creation of surgical laser incisions, with the ultimate goal of enabling superior surgical precision.
From 2015 to 2017 I worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. My research focused on image-guided ear procedures.
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Sustainable Development Goals
Research Interests
Scholarly Work
Professor Fichera’s research interests are in the application of robotics and computer science to enhance medicine, and particularly surgery. Close interaction with medical doctors is a fundamental component of his research.
- Full list of publications at Research Lab site
- Full list of publications in Scopus
- Full list of publications in Google Scholar
- Full list of publications in PubMed
- List of publications in arXiv
Featured articles:
Arnold, A., & Fichera, L. (2022). Identification of tissue optical properties during thermal laser‐tissue interactions: An ensemble Kalman filter‐based approach. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Biomedical Engineering, 38(4), e357
Freeman, M. H., Gafford, J. B., Fichera, L., Noble, J., Webster III, R. J., & Labadie, R. F. (2022). Transeustachian Middle Ear Endoscopy Using a Steerable Distal-Camera Tipped Endoscope. Otology & Neurotology, 43(2), 206-211.
Fichera, L. (2021). Bringing the light inside the body to perform better surgery. Science Robotics, 6(50), eabf1523.
Pacheco, N. E., Gafford, J. B., Atalla, M. A., Webster III, R. J., & Fichera, L. (2021). Beyond Constant Curvature: A New Mechanics Model for Unidirectional Notched-Tube Continuum Wrists. Journal of Medical Robotics Research, 6(01n02), 2140004.
Fichera, L., Dillon, N. P., Zhang, D., Godage, I. S., Siebold, M. A., Hartley, B. I., ... & Webster, R. J. (2017). Through the eustachian tube and beyond: A new miniature robotic endoscope to see into the middle ear. IEEE robotics and automation letters, 2(3), 1488-1494.
