AMMI Lab
Advanced Materials & Medical Instruments Lab
LAB NEWS
Apr 09, 2024
Presentation at Design of Medical Devices (DMD)
Rex will present our conference papers titled "An Innovative Needle Template for Initial Angulation in Needle-Based Procedures"
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Mar 03, 2024
Paper accepted in Journal of Robotic Surgery (JRS)
Titled "A Mechanics-Based Model for a Tendon-Driven Active Needle Navigating inside a Multiple-Layer Tissue"
Nov 22, 2023
Sam successfully passed his MS thesis defense
Congrats!
Title: "Design and Development of an MRI-Compatible System to Operate a Tendon-Driven Active Needle for Percutaneous Needle Placement"
Mahalo to his committee: Drs. Scott Miller and Zac Trimble!
Nov 10, 2023
Presentation at UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dr. Konh presented at UT Medical Center, entitled “Curvilinear needle insertion for prostate intervention”
Nov 1, 2023
Presentation at International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition (IMECE)
Blayton presented our conference paper entitled “A Model to Predict Deflection of an Active Tendon-Driven Notched Needle Inside Soft Tissue”
Oct 12, 2023
Presentation at Siemens/Varian
Dr. Konh presented at RO MSL Lecture Series at Siemens/Varian, entitled “Curvilinear needle insertion for prostate intervention”
Aug 21, 2023
Joshua Kinder joined AMMI lab
Welcome!
Aug 13, 2023
Presentation at Queens Innovation Institute + College of Engineering Showcase
Titled "Research activities at AMMI Lab"
Aug 06, 2023
Paper accepted in ASME Journal of Engineering and Science in Medical Diagnostics and Therapy (JESMDT)
Titled "A Model to Predict Deflection of an Active Tendon-Driven Notched Needle Inside Soft Tissue"
Jul 28, 2023
Poster presentation at University of Hawai'i Cancer Center for the 2023 CREATE Summer Internship Poster Presentations in the Sullivan Conference Center
Christopher Pham presented his poster
Jun 15, 2023
Presentation at NIH NIBIB 2023 TRAINING GRANTEES MEETING
Dr. Konh presented at the NIH NIBIB 2023 TRAINING GRANTEES MEETING in Bethesda, Maryland
Jun 05, 2023
Presentation at Dr. Thomas Noh Lab Meeting
PhD Candidate, Blayton presented "Research activities at AMMI Lab"
May 20, 2023
Christopher Pham joined our lab for the summer
Welcome!
May 08, 2023
Blayton successfully passed his PhD Comprehensive Exam
Congrats!
Mahalo to his committee: Drs. Scott Miller, Joseph Brown, Tyler Ray, Philip von Doetinchem, and Tarun Podder!
Apr 19, 2023
Presentation at Design of Medical Devices (DMD)
Blayton presented our conference papers titled "Design of an MRI-Compatible Robot for Image-Guided Needle Insertion Procedures using Active Tendon-Driven Needles"
Apr 18, 2023
Poster Presentations at Design of Medical Devices (DMD)
Blayton presented our conference papers titled "Systematic 12-Core Transperineal Prostate Biopsy with Minimal Active Needle Insertions in a Patient Prostate-Sized Phantom" and "Minimalistic Design of an Actuation Device to Manipulate an Active Flexible Robotic Tool"
Apr 18, 2023
Poster Presentations at International Symposium on Medical Robotics (ISMR)
Dr. Konh presented our poster titled "Real-Time Ultrasound Tracking and Closed-Loop Control of a Tendon-Driven Continuum Robotic Tool in Water Medium"
April 2023
Dr. Konh was added to the Editorial Advisory Board - Int. J. Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery
Mar 23, 2023
Abstracts accepted for International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition (IMECE)
1) Title: "A Model to Predict Deflection of an Active Tendon-Driven Notched Needle Inside Soft Tissue"
2) Title: "Towards Design and Preliminary Evaluation of an MRI-Compatible Teleoperative Robot for Needle-Based Prostate Interventions: Enabling Needle Bending via a Tendon-Driven Notched Needle"
Jan 09, 2023
Rex Imanaka joined AMMI Lab
Welcome!
Jan 03, 2023
Paper accepted in Journal of Medical Robotics Research (JMRR)
Title: "Teleoperated and Automated Control of a Robotic Tool for Targeted Prostate Biopsy"
https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/S2424905X23400020
Nov 21, 2022
Zolboo successfully passed his MS thesis exam
Title: "Tendon-Driven Notched Needle for Robot-Assisted Prostate Interventions"
Mahalo to his committee: Drs. Scott Miller and Peter Berkelman
Congratulations!
Nov 04, 2022
Invited Talk at AI Precision Health Institute, University of Hawaii Cancer Center (UHCC)
Dr. Konh delivered a presentation titled "Application of robotics and AI in prostate cancer diagnostic and treatment methods"
Aug 23, 2022
Presentation at International Conference on Biomechanical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob)
Presented our conference paper titled "HDR Brachytherapy Planning using Active Needles - Preliminary Investigation on Dose Planning"
Jul 10, 2022
Paper accepted in Journal of Medical Engineering and Physics
Title: "Kinematics Modelling and Dynamics Analysis of an SMA-Actuated Active Flexible Needle for Feedback-Controlled Manipulation in Phantom"
Jun 21, 2022
Invited Talk at Sorbonne University
Dr. Konh delivered a presentation titled "How needle-sized robots help surgeons perform prostate cancer interventions?"
Apr 15, 2022
Presentation and award for travel at International Symposium on Medical Robotics (ISMR)
Blayton presented our conference paper titled "Modeling and Operator Control of a Robotic Tool for Bidirectional Manipulation in Targeted Prostate Biopsy"
A travel award was also given to him to attend the conference
Apr 14, 2022
Presentation at Design of Medical Devices (DMD)
Zolboo presented our conference paper titled "Estimation of Tissue Movement in Needle Insertion Tasks using an Active Needle"
https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/BIOMED/proceedings/DMD2022/84815/V001T11A002/1140679
Apr 13, 2022
Presentation at Design of Medical Devices (DMD)
Mahsa presented our conference paper titled "A Portable Robot to Perform Prostate Brachytherapy with Active Needle Steering and Robot-Assisted Ultrasound Tracking"
https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/BIOMED/proceedings/DMD2022/84815/V001T11A005/1140648
Apr 13, 2022
Invited Workshop Talk at International Symposium on Medical Robotics (ISMR)
Dr. Konh delivered a presentation titled "Self-sensing feedback control of an SMA-actuated active flexible needle for manipulation inside a phantom" for the Surgical Robots: The Next Generation workshop
Nov 18, 2021
Presentation and award for travel at International Symposium on Medical Robotics (ISMR)
Zolboo presented a poster titled "Development of a portable robotic tendon-driven needle insertion system to perform high-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy for patients with pubic arch interference" and conference paper titled "Steering a Tendon-Driven Needle in High-Dose-Rate Prostate Brachytherapy for Patients with Pubic Arch Interference"
A travel award was also given to him to attend the conference
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9838807/
Nov 12, 2021
Invited Talk at University of Hawaii Cancer Center (UHCC)
Dr. Konh delivered a presentation titled "Robotic image-guided prostate brachytherapy in cadavers: smart actuators of an active needle to extract information from surrounding tissue"
Aug 2021
New Award
Dr. Konh was awarded National Institute of Health (NIH), Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (K25)
Jun 2021
New Award: NSF I-Corps
Our group received the National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps New England Regional Innovation Node (NERIN) award
Apr 26, 2021
Paper accepted in The International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery
Title: "Integrating Robot-Assisted Ultrasound Tracking and 3D Needle Shape Prediction for Real-Time Tracking of the Needle Tip in Needle Steering Procedures"
Mar 31, 2021
Blayton passed his Qualifying exam
Congratulations.
Sep 01, 2021
Mahsa Rabiei & Samuel Lafreniere joined AMMI Lab
Welcome to the both of you!
Mar 2021
New Award: ASU I-Corps
Our group completed the Arizona State University (ASU) I-Corps program and received an award from National Science Foundation (NSF)
Feb 23, 2021
First Ultrasound imaging in cadaver
Thanks to Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry & Physiology, we performed our first ultrasound imaging in a cadaver. We are aiming to segment the prostate capsule for image-guided needle insertion.
Feb 03, 2021
Paper accepted in Design of Medical Devices (DMD) Conference
Title: "3D shape estimation of an active needle inside tissue using 2D ultrasound images"
Explains methods to predict shape of the needle while curved inside tissue using ultrasound images
https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/BIOMED/proceedings/DMD2021/84812/V001T13A008/1109131
Jan 27, 2021
Paper accepted in Journal of Medical Robotics Research
Title: "3D steerable biopsy needle with a motorized manipulation system and ultrasound tracking to navigate inside tissue"
Explains methods for needle identification in ultrasound images and robot-assisted tracking of the needle tip
https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/S2424905X21500033
Dec 13, 2020
Dr. Konh presented at IEEE NANOMED 2020 Conference
Title: "Towards an Ultrasound-Guided Needle Insertion System for Prostate Brachytherapy"
Dec 4, 2020
Blayton successfully passed his MS Thesis exam
Congratulations!
Title: "Distributed SMA Actuators for Multidirectional Manipulation of an Active Needle: Investigation on Internal Phase Transformation of SMAs for Precise Assembly and Performance"
Mahalo to his committee: Drs. Scott Miller and Reza Ghorbani - Chair: Dr. Bardia Konh
He is also joining our PhD program in Spring 2021.
Dec 1, 2020
Oral and poster presentations at IEEE BioRob 2020 Conference
Please find our poster in here.
Nov 25, 2020
Gabrielle Baguio (our undergraduate researcher) received UROP funding - congratulations!
She is working to measure needle insertion force in tissue.
Nov 13, 2020
Paper accepted for publication in ASME Journal of Medical Devices
Title: "A Flexible Three-Dimensional Printed Surgical Needle with Embedded Actuators and a Portable Motorized Control Unit"
Nov 10, 2020
New award: Cancer Center's SITS (Strategic Investment in Translational Science) program
Mahalo to UH Cancer Center for the pilot award.
Oct 20, 2020
US Patent Approved
Steerable Surgical Devices with Shape Memory Alloy Wires, Patent No. 10,806,898
Aug 20, 2020
Zolboo Batsaikhan joined AMMI Lab
He is going to work on active needle and image-guided needle insertion systems. Welcome.
Jul 07, 2020
Paper accepted for publication in Surgical Innovation
Title: "A Compact 3D Printed Active Flexible Needle for Percutaneous Procedures"
This work (accepted for publication in Inventor's Corner) presents an innovative 3D printed needle with embedded SMA actuators.
Jun 25, 2020
Paper accepted in ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering
Title: "Shape Memory Alloy Actuators in an Active 3D Printed Needle - Modeling, Precise Assembly and Performance Evaluation"
Blayton's research explains SMA behavior and phase transformation while actively bending a surgical needle
Jun 17, 2020
Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF) Grant
AMMI lab received a HCF grant to advance its robotic infrastructure for needle insertion and medical imaging
Jun 17, 2020
Saeed successfully defended his Ph.D. - Congratulations to Dr. Karimi
Title: "Shape Memory Alloy Actuator Control for 3D Steering of Active Surgical Needle in Robotic Assisted Minimally Invasive Surgeries"
Mahalo to the committee: Drs. Mehrdad Nejhad, Peter Berkelman, Scott Miller, Mohammad Elahinia, and Aaron Ohta - Chair: Dr. Bardia Konh
Jun 03, 2020
Paper available online in Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures
Title: "Self-sensing feedback control of multiple interacting shape memory alloy actuators in a 3D steerable active needle"
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1045389X20919971
May 11, 2020
Dr. Seong Young Ko joined our lab as a visiting scholar
Dr. Seong Young Ko is an Associated Professor at Chonnam National University, School of Mechanical Engineering, who will be working with us on ultrasound guided needle project.
May 09, 2020
Paper accepted in IEEE RAS/EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob)
Title: "Needle Tip Manipulation and Control of a 3D Steerable SMA-Activated Flexible Needle"
Saeed's project develops a new manipulation and control of active needle with online shape sensing. Shape sensing is interesting for a number of medical devices such as endoscopes, bronchoscopes, etc.
May 05, 2020
Paper presented at Rapid-Fire Presentations at Design of Medical Devices (DMD) Conference
Title: "Dynamic characteristics analysis and FEM modeling of flexible joints of an SMA-activated flexible multi-joint needle"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zka5kMyxkmE&feature=youtu.be
May 04, 2020
Zahra virtually presented her paper at Design of Medical Devices (DMD) Conference
Title: "Cable-driven 3D steerable surgical needle for needle-based procedures"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynXTiXXHPf0&feature=youtu.be
Mar 16, 2020
Paper Accepted for Publication in Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures
Title: "Self-sensing electrical resistance feedback control of multiple interacting SMA actuators in a 3D steerable active needle"
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1045389X20919971?journalCode=jima
Nov 26, 2019
Zahra successfully defended her MS thesis - congratulations
Title: "Smart Image-Guided Needle Insertion for Tissue Biopsy"
Jun 05, 2019
Our recent work was published in ASME Journal of Medical Devices
"Design and performance study of a novel minimally invasive active surgical needle"
May 27, 2019
Paper was published in Robotica
Title: "3D manipulation of an active steerable needle via actuation of multiple SMA wires"
This work investigates dynamic response of the active needle via finite element analyses. Complex response of multiple SMAs and their contribution to manipulate the active needle is explained.
Apr 26, 2019
Saeed's comprehensive exam
Saeed successfully proposed his PhD plans to the committee and advanced to candidacy. Good luck Saeed with the rest of your studies.
Apr 16, 2019
Two posters were presented at Design of Medical Devices Confernece - DMD 2019
1) Title: "3D steerable active surgical needle"
2) Title: "Ultrasound needle tracking inside a soft phantom and methods to improve the needle tip visualization"
Mar 01, 2019
A new undergraduate joined our lab to work on Vertically Integrated Project
Silvija joined AMMI lab in Spring 2019 to work on an exciting project to develop a therapeutic ultrasonic device.
Welcome.
Jan 04, 2019
Blayton joined AMMI Lab
Blayton Padasdao joined AMMI lab to work on his MS project. Welcome.
Aug 06, 2018
New member joins the team to work on her MS
AMMI Lab welcomes Zahra!
May 21, 2018
Two interns join AMMI Lab for summer
Welcome Antoine Gambier & Alban Desmare!
May 21, 2018
Saeed successfully passed his qualifying exam.
Congrats to our PhD candidate, Saeed!
May 04, 2018
Our senior design team won the third place in Francis Rhodes Montgomery Design Competition
For their miniature 3D printed smart needle. Congratulations to the team!
Oct 18, 2017
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) award
Our senior design group received a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) award to develop a Brachytherapy Active Needle with Shape Memory Alloy Actuators
Congratulations to the group
Oct 18, 2017
Student Project Grant Awarded
AMMI Lab received a student project grant to develop an autonomous active needle insertion system.
Mahalo College of Engineering
Sep 01, 2017
Senior design group of 2017-18
Seven undergraduate students joined our lab to work on their senior design project. Welcome: Dylan Apilado, Danielle Au, Jordan Fujimoto, Emma Kawamoto, Jake Shirokane, Lansing Sugita, Kristal Vidad
Sep 01, 2017
New AMMI member
Saeed Karimi joined our lab for his PhD. Welcome!
Jun 01, 2017
AMMI summer interns
Two interns joined our lab for summer. Welcome Pauline Morin and Thomas Guerin
May 15, 2017
Two new member joined for vertically integrated project
Welcome Huy Lam and George Manolakis
May 01, 2017
2017 Senior design competition
Our senior design group won 2nd place in 2017 Francis Rhode Montgomery Design Competition
Congrats...
Mar 01, 2017
Our papers were presented at SPIE/NDE conference
Dr. Konh presented 3 papers at SPIE/NDE conference in Portland, OR
Apr 01, 2017
Two papers were presented at DMD conference
Dr. Konh delivered an invited talk and a poster presentation at DMD conference in Minneapolis, MN
Feb 28, 2017
Our paper was selected top ten at DMD conference
Our paper entitled "Design and Fabrication of a MirtaClip Locator Prototype for Percutaneous Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair System" was selected among top ten accepted papers for Three-in-Five Competition at Design of Medical Devices Conference, Minneapolis, MN
https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/BIOMED/proceedings/DMD2017/40672/V001T01A011/229408
Jan 10, 2017
Three students joined out lab for their VIP
Welcome: Coleson Costales, Hongliang Lin, Zhiqiang Shi
Nov 01, 2016
Research Experience for Undergraduate Award
Our undergraduate students received REU award to complete their 2016-17 senior design project.
Congratulations all.
Sep 01, 2016
Senior design team of 2016-17
Eight undergraduate students joined our lab for their 2016-17 senior design project on active needle.
Welcome: Chad Nakaoka, Dayne Sasaki, Lauren Sumida, Matthew Barrett-Wright, Sean Saito, Taylor Molde, Wei Lun Lian, Bradley Beaudry
Sep 01, 2016
Class project
A group of 4 master students started working to design and make an active prototype to be used in transcatheter mitral valve replacement procedure for their class project. This project is co-advised by Dr. Scott Miller (from ME department) and Dr. Russell Woo (from University of Hawai‘i, John A. Burns School of Medicine & Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women and Children)
Wish you all success: Pablo Gimeno, Joshua Chen, Christopher Posa, Minji Jo
Aug 01, 2016
AMMI lab stablished
AMMI Lab started in Holmes Hall 348D. To schedule a visit contact Dr. Konh at konh@hawaii.edu