Medical Engineering and Imaging Core (MEIC)

Medical Engineering & Imaging Core (MEIC)

The Medical Engineering & Imaging Core (MEIC) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is an interdisciplinary research facility supporting medical engineering, device innovation, and translational biomedical research. MEIC provides students and faculty with shared access to advanced imaging, fabrication, and biomechanical and physiological testing resources, along with hands-on training and technical support. By lowering barriers to sophisticated experimentation, MEIC enables rigorous, multidisciplinary research from benchtop and preclinical studies to clinically relevant validation.

What We Do

Medical Imaging and Surgical Technologies

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (SIGNA Premier 3T MRI) with fMRI capability, advanced research sequences, and multimodal physiological monitoring integration
• Fluoroscopy: Ziehm Vision RFD with 3D reconstruction capability (19.8 x 19.6 x 18 cm reconstruction volume) and Siemens Arcadis Orbit with 3D reconstruction (12 x 12 x 12 cm).
• Ultrasound:  GE Logiq E9 Ultrasound Machine.with capabilities such as flow, elastography, 3D ultrasound, and RF data.
• Surgical Navigation: NDI Vega ST Optical Tracking System
• Physiological monitoring system - 12-Inch Patient Monitor Welch Allyn ECG, non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP), oxygen saturation (SpO₂), pulse rate (PR), respiratory rate (RESP), and temperature (TEMP).
• Laser Ablation: Visualase™ MRI-Guided Laser Ablation 

Biomechanics and Physiological Sensing Capabilities

• Biomechanics & Human Performance: Vicon motion capture and portable optical tracking systems for gait, movement analysis, and sensor/algorithm validation.
• Human-Systems Testbeds: Simulated apartment environments with integrated physiological and environmental sensing for home-health, remote-care, and aging-in-place research.
• Performance & Sports Science: Instrumented treadmill, rowing ergometer, mobility stairs, softball pitching net, exoskeleton platforms, and AMTI force plates for biomechanics, rehabilitation, and human–robot interaction studies.
• Physiologic Sensing: High-performance ECG, EMG (Delsys), bioimpedance, inertial sensing, and ultrasound systems with multimodal data-acquisition workflows for clinical and translational research.

Medical Robotics Platform

Two Da Vinci Research Kit (dVRK) platforms supporting advanced medical-robotics research, usability studies, and surgical-task development

• 4th Floor – RBE Shared Lab: fully accessible benchtop dVRK system for robotic control development, haptics, surgical simulation, and instrumentation prototyping
• 3rd Floor – Neural Tech Room: dedicated dVRK system integrated with imaging, sensing, and neural-interface hardware (fNIRS) for multimodal surgical-robotics research

Engineering, Fabrication & Technical Services

• Machine Shop: Haas CNC mill, Jet lathe, drill press, Protomax waterjet
• Electronics Lab: Oscilloscope, function generator, BGA rework station, reflow oven, SMD soldering stations
• Additive Manufacturing: 150 W laser cutter for rapid 2D prototyping, SLA printing (Formlabs 3B+ with multiple engineering resins), FDM printing (PLA, TPU, ABS), and composite printing with continuous fiber reinforcement (Markforged Mark Two).