{"620976":{"#nid":"620976","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Desai Secures $2.8 Million Grant to Develop Steerable Robotic Guidewire","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJaydev Desai, a professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University (BME) and director of the Georgia Center for Medical Robotics (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/medicalrobotics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGCMR\u003C\/a\u003E), has spent his career developing robotic tools to address challenging clinical problems. And the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has taken notice.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThrough the years, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/robomed.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EDesai\u003C\/a\u003E has secured several NIH R01 grants to support his work in this area, but recently the Institutes not only stepped up to support Desai\u0026rsquo;s latest project (which can fill a critical gap in the treatment of deadly atherosclerosis), it also ranked the researcher\u0026rsquo;s grant application with its highest degree of confidence \u0026ndash; a one percentile score.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;That is highly encouraging,\u0026rdquo; Desai says. \u0026ldquo;It clearly demonstrates how critical and challenging the clinical problem is and why innovative engineering solutions need to be developed to address it.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe NIH\u0026rsquo;s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) awarded a $2.8 million grant to support Desai\u0026rsquo;s lab and his collaborators for an innovative project that features the first use of intravascular steerable robotic guidewire capable of forward-looking ultrasound imaging and image-guided navigation through vasculature and occluded vessels.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDesai explains that the ability to steer, visualize, and navigate the guidewire is highly novel and will eventually result in improvement of clinical workflow and patient treatment outcomes. \u0026ldquo;Think of a plumber\u0026rsquo;s snake,\u0026rdquo; Desai says. \u0026ldquo;And this is all about steering the tip of the long snake with visualization of where to go with ultrasound imaging.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDesai\u0026rsquo;s collaborators include \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/lindsey.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EBrooks Lindsey\u003C\/a\u003E (Coulter Department), \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ultrasound.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EStanislav Emelianov\u003C\/a\u003E (Coulter Department and School of Electrical and Computer Engineering), and from Emory, Muralidhar Padala (cardiothoracic surgery), Khusrow Niazi (interventional cardiology) and Zachary Bercu (interventional radiology).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPatients with atherosclerosis can develop a buildup of fatty deposits, or plaque, within their arteries. These can lead to total blockages in the arteries, a condition called chronic total occlusion (CTO), which are the riskiest and most challenging vascular lesions to treat with traditional stenting or endovascular devices. The structure of the lesion (including a fibrous, calcific plaque) presents a complex technical challenge \u0026ndash; the stiff formation can bend guidewire tips. Even successful procedures, Desai points out, \u0026ldquo;are time consuming, involve chance, and require prolonged patient and physician exposure to radiation.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The clinical challenge is well recognized in the community,\u0026rdquo; he adds. \u0026ldquo;Since endovascular approaches are increasingly utilized over conventional approaches, there is an urgent need to develop new technologies to meet this critical need!\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESo Desai\u0026rsquo;s team plans to address three specific aims:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026bull;\u0026nbsp;Design and develop a robotically steerable, 0.014-inch diameter guidewire (0.355 mm) system to accommodate a .350 mm x .350 mm ultrasound transducer at its tip, and can be steered with image feedback from the transducer.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026bull; Design and build a forward-looking transducer for the robotically steerable guidewire and an algorithm to reconstruct an image of the encountered occlusion.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026bull; Iteratively optimize the ultrasound-steerable guidewire design using 3D printed, patient-specific models of CTOs, realistic human cadaver limbs with CTO, and a live animal model of CTOs.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe highly interdisciplinary project combines expertise in medical robotics, ultrasound imaging, pulsatile flow models and image-guided interventions in animal models, interventional cardiology, and interventional radiology. The designed system, Desai says, \u0026ldquo;will have significant societal impact through improved patient outcomes, reduced radiation exposure for the physician and the patient, reduced rate of procedural failures, and lower healthcare costs.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"NIH ranks researcher\u2019s proposal with its best possible score"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENIH ranks researcher\u0026rsquo;s proposal with its best possible score\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"NIH ranks researcher\u2019s proposal with its best possible score"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2019-04-27 00:01:01","changed_gmt":"2019-04-29 13:02:58","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2019-04-26T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2019-04-26T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"609741":{"id":"609741","type":"image","title":"Steerable Guidewire: Jaydev Desai, PhD ","body":null,"created":"1534269608","gmt_created":"2018-08-14 18:00:08","changed":"1556323292","gmt_changed":"2019-04-27 00:01:32","alt":"Steerable Guidewire: Jaydev Desai, PhD ","file":{"fid":"232208","name":"Jaydev-Desai.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jaydev-Desai_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jaydev-Desai_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1441404,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Jaydev-Desai_0.jpg?itok=_9ryjOc2"}}},"media_ids":["609741"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"126571","name":"go-PetitInstitute"},{"id":"2076","name":"NIH"},{"id":"181145","name":"NHLBI"},{"id":"7270","name":"atherosclerosis"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"},{"id":"181146","name":"guidewire"},{"id":"175342","name":"go-medicalrobotics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["Jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"604797":{"#nid":"604797","#data":{"type":"news","title":"March was Medical Robotics Month","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMedical robotics expanded its footprint at the Georgia Institute of Technology with two significant developments in March.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe month began with the first ever International Symposium on Medical Robotics (ISMR), a three-day gathering of some of the world\u0026rsquo;s thought leaders in the field, who shared their latest research at the Historic Academy of Medicine at Georgia Tech. And not long after that, Jaydev Desai, director of the Georgia Center of Medical Robotics (GCMR) at Georgia Tech, received a $3 million NIH Research Project Grant (R01).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We are one of the very few places in the U.S., if not the world, doing top notch work in robotics,\u0026rdquo; said Desai, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, and a researcher with the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDesai, who also is associate director of the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines at Georgia Tech, organized and chaired the symposium, which brought more than 100 experts from across the U.S., and six different countries, to Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The response was terrific,\u0026rdquo; Desai said. \u0026ldquo;Attendees enjoyed the breadth and depth of the symposium. They liked the fact that the focus was medical robotics, not just surgical robotics. There was broad appeal.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESpeakers from universities and institutions in the U.S., Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom presented a wide range of research topics, including, among many other things: \u0026ldquo;Computer-Assisted Technologies for Laser Microsurgery\u0026rdquo; (Leonardo De Mattos, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia); \u0026ldquo;Medical Microbrobotics: Wireless Control of Miniaturized Agents\u0026rdquo; (Sarthak Misra, University of Twente, Netherlands); \u0026ldquo;Soft Wearable Robots for the Community and the Home\u0026rdquo; (Conor Walsh, Harvard); and \u0026ldquo;Mobile Manipulators for Intelligent Physical Assistance,\u0026rdquo; (Charlie Kemp, Georgia Tech).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAdditionally, there were keynote speeches from experts, such as, Jonathan Lewin (president and CEO of Emory Healthcare) and Steven Wolf (Emory School of Medicine).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;So basically, we covered a lot of ground in a lot of different areas,\u0026rdquo; said Desai, who is already considering how he might grow the symposium next year to also include what he\u0026rsquo;s calling, \u0026ldquo;a Spring School on Medical Robotics, based on the summer schools for medical robotics that have been held in the U.S. in the past.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe last one was held in 2014, at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Desai wants to revive the program and include it with the symposium, creating a week-long event. It\u0026rsquo;s all part of an initiative he\u0026rsquo;s been pursuing to grow medical robotics at Georgia Tech since arriving here from the University of Maryland in August 2016.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENIH Grant Will Aid Repair of Mitral Regurgitation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFormerly a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland, Desai has been the recipient of several R01 grants in the past. But this latest one is his first NIH R01 since arriving at Georgia Tech, and it includes three principal investigators (PIs).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to Desai, who is the contact-PI, the team includes Muralidhar\u0026nbsp;Padala, an assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Emory, and a Coulter Department faculty member; and Baowei Fei, formerly of Emory, now at the University of Texas-Dallas.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe title of their project supported by the $3-million, four-year grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) of NIH is, \u0026ldquo;Image-guided Intravascular Robotic System for Mitral Valve Repair and Implants.\u0026rdquo; Desai\u0026rsquo;s role in the research, essentially, is to develop an articulated intravascular steerable robotic system which will safely deliver an implant (developed at Emory) to the mitral valve leaflets under image-guidance, to repair mitral regurgitation.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This work involves several pieces,\u0026rdquo; Desai said. \u0026ldquo;There is the design of the implant, intravascular robotics, and the imaging piece, which helps the clinician to guide the robot and understand where and how to move and where to place the implant. So, this is a true collaborative effort.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"International Symposium on Medical Robotics debuts at Georgia Tech; Jaydev Desai receives $3 million NIH R01 grant for a collaborative project"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EInternational Symposium on Medical Robotics debuts at Georgia Tech; Jaydev Desai receives $3 million NIH R01 grant for a collaborative project\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"International Symposium on Medical Robotics debuts at Georgia Tech; Jaydev Desai receives $3 million NIH R01 grant for a collaborative project"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2018-04-06 02:04:51","changed_gmt":"2018-04-06 02:04:51","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-04-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2018-04-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"604791":{"id":"604791","type":"image","title":"Cross and Desai","body":null,"created":"1522978190","gmt_created":"2018-04-06 01:29:50","changed":"1522978190","gmt_changed":"2018-04-06 01:29:50","alt":"","file":{"fid":"230574","name":"Jaydev and Steve Cross.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jaydev%20and%20Steve%20Cross.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jaydev%20and%20Steve%20Cross.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3352936,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Jaydev%20and%20Steve%20Cross.jpg?itok=QbETTIwB"}},"604792":{"id":"604792","type":"image","title":"Jon Lewin","body":null,"created":"1522978607","gmt_created":"2018-04-06 01:36:47","changed":"1522978607","gmt_changed":"2018-04-06 01:36:47","alt":"","file":{"fid":"230575","name":"Lewin and Twain.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Lewin%20and%20Twain.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Lewin%20and%20Twain.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1319597,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Lewin%20and%20Twain.jpg?itok=7PgWIQ7n"}},"604795":{"id":"604795","type":"image","title":"Rapid Fire robotics","body":null,"created":"1522979817","gmt_created":"2018-04-06 01:56:57","changed":"1522979817","gmt_changed":"2018-04-06 01:56:57","alt":"","file":{"fid":"230579","name":"rapid fire.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rapid%20fire.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rapid%20fire.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2551884,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/rapid%20fire.jpg?itok=HUZ3w6Vu"}},"604794":{"id":"604794","type":"image","title":"John Oshinski","body":null,"created":"1522979641","gmt_created":"2018-04-06 01:54:01","changed":"1522979694","gmt_changed":"2018-04-06 01:54:54","alt":"","file":{"fid":"230578","name":"Oshinski2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Oshinski2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Oshinski2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2555677,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Oshinski2.jpg?itok=zfWDEem5"}},"604796":{"id":"604796","type":"image","title":"Robotics Symposium group","body":null,"created":"1522979907","gmt_created":"2018-04-06 01:58:27","changed":"1522979907","gmt_changed":"2018-04-06 01:58:27","alt":"","file":{"fid":"230580","name":"large group.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/large%20group.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/large%20group.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3866854,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/large%20group.jpg?itok=RI3O_vnX"}},"604793":{"id":"604793","type":"image","title":"Preparing for speech","body":null,"created":"1522979266","gmt_created":"2018-04-06 01:47:46","changed":"1522979266","gmt_changed":"2018-04-06 01:47:46","alt":"","file":{"fid":"230576","name":"preparing.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/preparing.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/preparing.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3791044,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/preparing.jpg?itok=hbtzY93j"}}},"media_ids":["604791","604792","604795","604794","604796","604793"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"126571","name":"go-PetitInstitute"},{"id":"175342","name":"go-medicalrobotics"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["Jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"599588":{"#nid":"599588","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Honor for Jaydev P. Desai","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJaydev P. Desai, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, a researcher with the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Tech, and director of the newly launched Georgia Center for Medical Robotics, has been named a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDesai, who is also the associate director of Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines, is being recognized by IEEE for contributions to medical and swarm robotics.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This is indeed a rare honor to be recognized for contributions in two different areas of robotics,\u0026rdquo; says Desai, whose work in medical robotics over the last 15-plus years has encompassed micro-to-meso-to-macro-scale robotics.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHis seminal research in swarm robotics during his graduate work using graph theory laid the foundation for formation control and enumeration of swarm formations that can be applied to ground, maritime, and aerial robotic systems. The work is highly cited even today.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIEEE fellowship is conferred by the IEEE Board of Directors upon a person with an outstanding record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The total number selected in any one year cannot exceed one-tenth of one- percent of the total voting membership, so this is a rare honor. IEEE Fellow is the highest grade of membership and is recognized by the technical community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBefore joining Georgia Tech in August 2016, Desai was a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP). A recipient of several NIH R01 grants and an NSF CAREER award, Desai was the lead inventor on the \u0026ldquo;Outstanding Invention of 2007\u0026rdquo; in the Physical Science category at UMCP.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDesai has more than\u0026nbsp;160 publications to his credit and is the founding editor-in-chief of the \u003Cem\u003EJournal of Medical Robotics Research\u003C\/em\u003E, and editor-in-chief of the \u003Cem\u003EEncyclopedia of Medical Robotics\u003C\/em\u003E. His research interests are primarily in the area of image-guided surgical robotics, cancer diagnosis at the micro-scale, and rehabilitation robotics. He\u0026rsquo;s also a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Medical robotics pioneer, Petit Institute researcher, BME professor named IEEE Fellow"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMedical robotics pioneer, Petit Institute researcher, BME professor named IEEE Fellow\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Medical robotics pioneer, Petit Institute researcher, BME professor named IEEE Fellow"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2017-12-06 13:21:54","changed_gmt":"2017-12-06 13:21:54","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-12-06T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2017-12-06T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"595145":{"id":"595145","type":"image","title":"Jaydev Desai","body":null,"created":"1503945846","gmt_created":"2017-08-28 18:44:06","changed":"1503945846","gmt_changed":"2017-08-28 18:44:06","alt":"","file":{"fid":"226812","name":"Jaydev-Desai.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jaydev-Desai.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jaydev-Desai.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1985808,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Jaydev-Desai.jpg?itok=65V_bhKe"}}},"media_ids":["595145"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"126571","name":"go-PetitInstitute"},{"id":"175342","name":"go-medicalrobotics"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"},{"id":"1187","name":"IEEE"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["Jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"596764":{"#nid":"596764","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Lena Ting Receives $2.6 Million NIH Grant to Identify Balance Impairment Mechanisms for those with Parkinson\u2019s Disease","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Lena Ting, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Emory and Georgia Tech, a five year, $2.6 million grant. This grant is a renewal of her previous research spanning more than a decade and marks the transition from basic to clinical science where her lab will translate their unique neuromechanical approaches to study mechanisms of balance impairments that lead to falls for those with Parkinson\u0026rsquo;s disease (PD).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe grant is also a collaboration with professor Stuart Factor, director of the Movement Disorders Clinic at the Emory Brain Health Center, Madeleine Hackney, a research health scientist in the Atlanta VA and the Department of Medicine at Emory, and Erin Buckley and Lucas McKay, both assistant professors in Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nTing\u0026rsquo;s research will use combined experimental and computational approaches to systematically isolate the causal linkages and interactions between muscle rigidity, muscle activity, and balance ability in Parkinson\u0026rsquo;s disease. Her goals are to identify the causal role of rigidity on impaired balance in PD, to validate novel optically-based and clinically-feasible methods to measure muscle rigidity during standing, and to establish a computational model of neuromechanical balance to simulate how multiple mechanisms interact to cause balance impairments. This research will facilitate the identification of treatment targets for the rational development of rehabilitation and other therapies for balance impairments across a variety of neurological movement disorders.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;It was surprising to me that the effects of muscle rigidity on balance is so poorly understood,\u0026rdquo; said Ting. \u0026ldquo;People with Parkinson\u0026rsquo;s disease have both muscle rigidity and postural instability, yet the effects of muscle rigidity have not been considered as contributing to balance impairments. One reason is that we can\u0026rsquo;t yet measure low levels of muscle activity reliably, nor predict how it would alter movement. In our research, we will address both of these problems.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Neuromechanics Lab based at Emory and directed by Ting, uses a broad range of techniques from neuroscience, biomechanics, rehabilitation, robotics, and physiology to discover new principles of human movement. Her lab\u0026rsquo;s basic science findings have facilitated advances in understanding movement disorders and in identifying mechanisms of rehabilitation. In 2016, The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) inducted Ting into its College of Fellows. The College of Fellows is comprised of the top two percent of medical and biological engineers in the country.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMedia Contacts:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:wrich@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EWalter Rich\u003C\/a\u003E\u2028\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Manager\u2028\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u2028\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nat Georgia Tech and Emory\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Her research seeks to identify optimal treatments for the rehabilitation of balance impairments using neuromechanical approaches"}],"uid":"27513","created_gmt":"2017-10-02 17:46:44","changed_gmt":"2017-10-09 11:48:38","author":"Walter Rich","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-10-02T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2017-10-02T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"596762":{"id":"596762","type":"image","title":"Lena Ting, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Emory and Georgia Tech","body":null,"created":"1506966178","gmt_created":"2017-10-02 17:42:58","changed":"1506966178","gmt_changed":"2017-10-02 17:42:58","alt":"Lena Ting, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Emory and Georgia Tech","file":{"fid":"227453","name":"LenaTing-croppedv2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/LenaTing-croppedv2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/LenaTing-croppedv2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":75073,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/LenaTing-croppedv2.jpg?itok=ETrTQ8xl"}},"596763":{"id":"596763","type":"image","title":"Lena Ting, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Emory and Georgia Tech","body":null,"created":"1506966242","gmt_created":"2017-10-02 17:44:02","changed":"1506966242","gmt_changed":"2017-10-02 17:44:02","alt":"Lena Ting, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Emory and Georgia Tech, pictured in her lab.","file":{"fid":"227454","name":"17C10203-P9-002-Horiz.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/17C10203-P9-002-Horiz.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/17C10203-P9-002-Horiz.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":121507,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/17C10203-P9-002-Horiz.jpeg?itok=PmaHlyMf"}}},"media_ids":["596762","596763"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1612","name":"BME"},{"id":"126571","name":"go-PetitInstitute"},{"id":"175342","name":"go-medicalrobotics"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWalter Rich\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["wrich@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"596400":{"#nid":"596400","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Clinical \u0026 Translational Science Alliance Receives $51 Million NIH Grant","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAfter a decade of research collaboration, the Atlanta Clinical \u0026amp; Translational Science Institute (ACTSI) will welcome a new partner and change its name, reflecting a new statewide focus. The University of Georgia will officially become the fourth academic partner, and ACTSI will now be known as the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.GeorgiaCTSA.org\u0022\u003EGeorgia Clinical \u0026amp; Translational Science Alliance\u003C\/a\u003E (Georgia CTSA).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis alliance is celebrating 10 years of research advancement by expanding across the state through a five-year, $51 million Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Emory University-led Georgia CTSA will focus on transforming the quality and value of clinical research and translating research results into better outcomes for patients.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia CTSA unites the strengths of its academic partners: \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.emory.edu\u0022\u003EEmory University\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.msm.edu\/\u0022\u003EMorehouse School of Medicine\u003C\/a\u003E, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.uga.edu\u0022\u003EUniversity of Georgia\u003C\/a\u003E. Emory is a national leader in health care and biomedical research as well as an outstanding leader in clinical and translational research training and education. Morehouse School of Medicine is a nationally recognized historically black institution that brings ethnic diversity to biomedical research, addresses health disparities through successful community engagement research, and serves as a pipeline for training minority researchers. Georgia Tech is a national leader in biomedical engineering, bioinformatics\u0026nbsp; and the application of innovative systems engineering to health care solutions. The University of Georgia has a proven track record in outstanding basic and translational research and, as the state\u0026rsquo;s land grant institution, offers a robust statewide network that enhances community outreach, service and research.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Continuing such an alliance and involving these leading state institutions is extremely important and in line with Georgia\u0026rsquo;s goals for the promotion of clinical and translational research, innovation and development,\u0026rdquo; said Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. \u0026ldquo;Having an active Clinical \u0026amp; Translational Science awardee in Georgia has brought our citizens cutting edge cures and the latest in clinical and translational research.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia CTSA is one of 64 Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) at major academic medical centers across the country, funded by the National Institutes of Health\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ncats.nih.gov\/\u0022\u003ENational Center for Advancing Translational Science\u003C\/a\u003E, and it is the only CTSA in Georgia. The award will fund cores focused on improving quality, efficiency and collaboration of the research process; provide consultative support and new tools in informatics and biostatistics; pilot funding for new research projects, training and workforce development, while integrating special populations and focusing on participant interactions, and creating local centers tackling clinical trial inefficiencies.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia CTSA welcomes contact principal investigator (PI) at Emory, W. Robert Taylor, M.D., Ph.D., and a new multi-PI leadership structure:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/medicine.emory.edu\/cardiology\/faculty-directory\/taylor-w-robert.html\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EW. Robert Taylor, MD, PhD\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nContact Principal Investigator, Georgia CTSA\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nInterim Chair, Department of Medicine\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector, Division of Cardiology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nMarcus Chair in Vascular Medicine\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nProfessor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nEmory University School of Medicine\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.msm.edu\/about_us\/FacultyDirectory\/Medicine\/ElizabethOfili\/index.php\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EElizabeth O. Ofili, MD, MPH\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nPrincipal Investigator, Morehouse School of Medicine, Georgia CTSA\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nProfessor of Medicine, Cardiology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nSenior Associate Dean of Clinical and Translational Research\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector, Clinical Research Center\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nMorehouse School of Medicine\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/garcia\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAndr\u0026eacute;s J. Garc\u0026iacute;a, PhD\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nPrincipal Investigator, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia CTSA\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nRae S. and Frank H. Neely Endowed Chair and Regents\u0026#39; Professor, Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector, Interdisciplinary Bioengineering Graduate Program\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/cap.rx.uga.edu\/index.php\/people\/faculty\/phillips\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBradley G. Phillips, PharmD, BCPS, FCCP\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nPrincipal Investigator, University of Georgia, Georgia CTSA\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nMillikan-Reeve Professor and Head, Clinical \u0026amp; Administrative Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector, Clinical and Translational Research Unit (CTRU), Office of Research\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nUniversity of Georgia\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/medicine.emory.edu\/infectious-diseases\/faculty-directory\/blumberg-henry-michael.html\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHenry M. Blumberg, MD\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nPrincipal Investigator, KL2 and TL1, Georgia CTSA\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nProfessor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Division of Infectious Diseases\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nEmory University School of Medicine\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;The Georgia CTSA creates a unique opportunity for synergy among historic partners in health care, education, and cutting edge research, and has emerged as an innovative and integrated environment where clinical and translational researchers can flourish,\u0026quot; said Taylor. \u0026quot;The Georgia CTSA is a catalyst and incubator for clinical and translational research across the state, with impacts throughout the Southeast and nation.\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia CTSA has improved health care and research for Georgia citizens through collaboration with the Grady Health System, Children\u0026rsquo;s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta VA Medical Center, Georgia Research Alliance, Georgia Bio, and multiple community medical groups throughout the state.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;Georgia CTSA continues established, strong clinical and research partnerships by leveraging the infrastructure support of the NIH-funded Research Centers at Minority Institutions (RCMI) at Morehouse School of Medicine. We will continue to implement innovative patient centered and participatory care delivery models, toward the elimination of health disparities,\u0026quot; said Ofili.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Georgia CTSA\u0026rsquo;s innovative support of discovery and collaborative partnerships help\u0026nbsp;to rapidly translate scientific discoveries and new technology, which positively impacts patient care in Georgia. This is an exciting story for the state,\u0026rdquo; said Garcia. \u0026ldquo;The new alliance is improving health care and clinical research for the citizens of Georgia and continues to create synergies that foster and accelerate new and emerging technologies and discoveries.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The addition of the University of Georgia provides the Georgia CTSA a statewide footprint to connect with every county in the state to address health and wellness needs, particularly in rural and underserved populations; opportunities for continued excellence in research by strengthening existing and expanding new research collaborations; and the ability to enrich interprofessional education to include students and trainees from pharmacy and other disciplines so that they can learn how to work together as a team to discover new approaches and treatments that improve health and patient care,\u0026rdquo; said Phillips.\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;As a new member of the Georgia CTSA, faculty and students across our campus will have unique support and infrastructure that builds upon current capabilities and increases our trajectory in fostering clinical and translational science in the state and beyond.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWritten by\u0026nbsp;Georgia Clinical \u0026amp; Translational Science Alliance\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFor more information, please visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.GeorgiaCTSA.org\u0022\u003Ewww.GeorgiaCTSA.org\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAfter a decade of research collaboration, the Atlanta Clinical \u0026amp; Translational Science Institute (ACTSI) will welcome a new partner and change its name, reflecting a new statewide focus. The University of Georgia will officially become the fourth academic partner, and ACTSI will now be known as the Georgia Clinical \u0026amp; Translational Science Alliance (Georgia CTSA). This alliance is celebrating 10 years of research advancement by expanding across the state through a five-year, $51 million Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Georgia Clinical \u0026 Translational Science Alliance has received a $51 million NIH grant"}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2017-09-25 02:07:04","changed_gmt":"2017-09-28 12:55:02","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-09-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2017-09-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"596398":{"id":"596398","type":"image","title":"Andres Garcia and diabetes research","body":null,"created":"1506304217","gmt_created":"2017-09-25 01:50:17","changed":"1506304641","gmt_changed":"2017-09-25 01:57:21","alt":"Andres Garcia and Jessica Weaver studying pancreatic cells.","file":{"fid":"227295","name":"DSC_5002.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DSC_5002.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DSC_5002.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":437238,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/DSC_5002.jpg?itok=SxyfGqhj"}},"596399":{"id":"596399","type":"image","title":"Andres Garcia and diabetes research2","body":null,"created":"1506304606","gmt_created":"2017-09-25 01:56:46","changed":"1506304606","gmt_changed":"2017-09-25 01:56:46","alt":"Andres Garcia and Jessica Weaver studying pancreatic cells.","file":{"fid":"227296","name":"DSC_5002.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DSC_5002_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DSC_5002_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":437238,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/DSC_5002_0.jpg?itok=Cj5PpJh_"}},"596446":{"id":"596446","type":"image","title":"W. Robert Taylor","body":null,"created":"1506363789","gmt_created":"2017-09-25 18:23:09","changed":"1506363789","gmt_changed":"2017-09-25 18:23:09","alt":"W. Robert Taylor","file":{"fid":"227320","name":"roberttaylor.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/roberttaylor.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/roberttaylor.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1780128,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/roberttaylor.jpg?itok=LibzEVrq"}}},"media_ids":["596398","596399","596446"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"8030","name":"CTSA"},{"id":"175654","name":"Georgia CTSA"},{"id":"5649","name":"ACTSI"},{"id":"175655","name":"Georgia Clinical \u0026 Translational Science Alliance"},{"id":"171346","name":"go-rem"},{"id":"173016","name":"go-apdc"},{"id":"175342","name":"go-medicalrobotics"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"595146":{"#nid":"595146","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech launches multidisciplinary Georgia Center for Medical Robotics","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMedical robotics has been instrumental in revolutionizing medical diagnosis and therapy for the past few decades. However, there are significant gaps in healthcare delivery for both adult and pediatric populations. The newly launched Georgia Center for Medical Robotics (GCMR) will address the needs of both populations by bringing together experts in several areas of medicine as well as technology from the nano to macro-scale.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe new research center at the Georgia Institute of Technology is partnering with Emory University, Children\u0026rsquo;s Healthcare of Atlanta, and Morehouse School of Medicine, and is led by Jaydev Desai, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (a joint department of Georgia Tech and Emory University). Desai is also the associate director of the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines (IRIM) leading the medical robotics and human augmentation area, and a researcher in the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDesai\u0026rsquo;s lab is a place where tiny technology is being used to foster big ideas, where small robots are being designed to carry out great tasks that would improve the lives of patients and the clinicians who treat them.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We\u0026rsquo;re interested in making the little fingers at the tip of an elephant arm,\u0026rdquo; says Desai, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (a joint department of Georgia Tech and Emory University), associate director of the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines (IRIM) leading the medical robotics and human augmentation area, and a researcher in the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThose little fingers are kind of the reason Desai came to Atlanta last year from the University of Maryland. They\u0026rsquo;re part of the impetus that led to creation of the Georgia Center for Medical Robotics (GCMR), the multidisciplinary research initiative being launched at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Really, this is a vision I\u0026rsquo;ve had for a very long time, to develop a center in the area of medical robotics,\u0026rdquo; explains Desai, founding director of the GCMR. \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s one of the primary reasons I came to Georgia Tech.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHe was particularly lured by the prospect of collaborating with the Emory and Morehouse schools of medicine, and Children\u0026rsquo;s Healthcare of Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The question I ask myself is, \u0026lsquo;how can we make an impact in different areas of medical robotics,\u0026rsquo; and the answer is, you bring together a combination of excellent engineering and top notch medicine,\u0026rdquo; says Desai, who has been pleasantly floored by the feedback and interest among clinicians like Josh Chern, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Children\u0026rsquo;s Healthcare of Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;A surgeon\u0026rsquo;s ability to see and to physically manipulate tissues are two of the basic tenets of surgery,\u0026rdquo; says Chern. \u0026ldquo;I believe surgical robotics will be an important next step to improve the precision and accuracy of surgical manipulations.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EUsing engineering principles to solve medical problems is a burgeoning field that will keep growing, offering patients more options, notes David Stephens, interim dean at the Emory School of Medicine.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Traditional drug therapy and diagnostics will continue to develop and improve, but new technological applications and innovative approaches will be critical in improving outcomes and increasing efficiencies in health care delivery,\u0026rdquo; Stephens says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, Desai\u0026rsquo;s lab is already working on robots that can take a surgeon like Chern outside his line of sight \u0026ndash; machines that can be lowered into the brain and sweep side to side, or rotate 360 degrees, offering previously impossible vantage points.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EChern also points to trends in healthcare delivery that have \u0026ldquo;focused on efficiency, minimizing errors and waste, and minimizing patient discomfort, to name a few.\u0026rdquo; He and fellow GCMR stakeholders see the research center as a pathway to further improvements in the safety and quality of care.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;With a desire to curb health care costs but also provide improved care, the application of robotics for precision surgery and in rehabilitation is very promising,\u0026rdquo; notes Steve Cross, Georgia Tech Executive Vice President for Research. \u0026ldquo;Georgia Tech, with its large array of regional health care organizations and the industry base, make this the perfect place to do leading edge research, co-innovate with health care professionals, and accelerate translations of research into medical use.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETeam Approach\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDesai has invited a wide-range of experts into the fold, and is thinking beyond robotics, strictly speaking. You may not be working on robots, but perhaps, for example, you\u0026rsquo;ve developed imaging processing technology that could be applied to one of these machines. The point is, Desai and his colleagues are encouraging the questions and the conversation, and identifying needs in the delivery of care \u0026ndash; needs that change quickly.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Healthcare is undergoing a time of rapid change in terms of human augmentation, automation, and quality control of diagnostic processes,\u0026rdquo; notes Carolyn Meltzer, GCMR advisory board member and associate dean for research at Emory University School of Medicine, where she chairs the Department of Radiology and Imaging Services.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of the center\u0026rsquo;s distinguishing characteristics, Desai says, is its focus on pediatric as well as adult patients. He\u0026rsquo;s developing patient-specific devices, utilizing 3D printing technology to create tailor-made medical robots.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We\u0026rsquo;re trying to develop very small, miniature technologies that are, by comparison, much smaller than existing devices in the marketplace,\u0026rdquo; says Desai.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to building new bridges between multiple disciplines (with more than 40 faculty researchers already, all of them aimed toward developing better medical robotic devices), the center also helps the Coulter Department further its two-headed mission of creating academic as well as research opportunities.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESusan Margulies, chair of the Coulter Department, calls the GCMR, \u0026ldquo;an exciting, timely initiative in biomedical engineering at the intersection of engineering, computing sciences, medicine, and health that will offer educational, training, and research opportunities for faculty and students. The Coulter Department has a rich history of excellence in transformational research and in translating biomedical engineering research to improve quality of life, and the GCMR will be one of our signature programs.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe development and growth of GCMR also helps solidify Atlanta\u0026rsquo;s reputation as a hub for medical robotics research. With a long-established culture of collaboration between different institutions, the city is a natural location for this kind of endeavor, according to Stephens, who points to some of the region\u0026rsquo;s proven benefits: the highly-ranked Coulter Department; an existing partnership between Tech, Emory, and the Morehouse School of Medicine in the NIH-funded Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute; Children\u0026rsquo;s Healthcare of Atlanta; and the Georgia Research Alliance.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Atlanta\u0026rsquo;s well-established academic and health care partnerships will provide a strong foundation,\u0026rdquo; Stephens assures. \u0026ldquo;And the center will create even more opportunities for shared initiatives.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDesai, who heads up the RoboMed lab in the Coulter Department, may be the first faculty member at Georgia Tech to be fully engaged in the area of surgical robots, but he doesn\u0026rsquo;t expect to be lonely. In fact, he\u0026rsquo;s already working on bringing the world to Atlanta, creating the International Symposium on Medical Robotics, which debuts next year.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESome of the world\u0026rsquo;s top researchers from academia and industry will come together March 1-3, 2018, at the historic Academy of Medicine, to exchange ideas and foster future developments in the field. And the symposium should also serve as a fitting grand-opening for Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s newest research center.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We want the Georgia Center for Medical Robotics to become a sustainable central hub of research and thought leadership,\u0026rdquo; says Desai. \u0026ldquo;So we\u0026rsquo;re making ourselves visible to the outside world.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELINKS:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/medicalrobotics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Center for Medical Robotics\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/medicalrobotics.gatech.edu\/international-symposium-medical-robotics-ismr\u0022\u003EInternational Symposium for Medical Robotics\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/robomed.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ERobomed Lab\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/features\/creating-next-robotics\u0022\u003ECreating the Next in Robotics\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECONTACT:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Advancing research in medical robotics to improve patient quality of life"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAdvancing research in medical robotics to improve patient quality of life\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Advancing research in medical robotics to improve patient quality of life"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2017-08-28 18:45:59","changed_gmt":"2017-09-05 18:27:38","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-08-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2017-08-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"595144":{"id":"595144","type":"image","title":"Robotics Center Biostock","body":null,"created":"1503944854","gmt_created":"2017-08-28 18:27:34","changed":"1503944854","gmt_changed":"2017-08-28 18:27:34","alt":"","file":{"fid":"226811","name":"Biostock - Robotics Center story.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Biostock%20-%20Robotics%20Center%20story.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Biostock%20-%20Robotics%20Center%20story.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1553400,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Biostock%20-%20Robotics%20Center%20story.jpg?itok=oZl4kt1x"}},"595145":{"id":"595145","type":"image","title":"Jaydev Desai","body":null,"created":"1503945846","gmt_created":"2017-08-28 18:44:06","changed":"1503945846","gmt_changed":"2017-08-28 18:44:06","alt":"","file":{"fid":"226812","name":"Jaydev-Desai.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jaydev-Desai.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jaydev-Desai.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1985808,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Jaydev-Desai.jpg?itok=65V_bhKe"}}},"media_ids":["595144","595145"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"175342","name":"go-medicalrobotics"},{"id":"126571","name":"go-PetitInstitute"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["Jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}