IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems – IROS 2024

14th – 18th Oct 2024 – ABU DHABI

The Altair Laboratory was proud to co-organize the Sustainable Medical and Surgical Robotics Forum at the 2024 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Held on Thursday, October 17th from 15:30 to 18:30, the forum addressed the urgent need for accessible and sustainable medical robotics.

The forum focused on the barriers to increase the adoption of medical robotics. Although robotic technologies have achieved significant breakthroughs, they currently make up only 0.1% of major surgeries globally. This is largely due to the high costs of devices and stringent certification requirements. The event highlighted solutions aimed at reducing these barriers by developing low-cost, high-performance robotic devices designed for routine diagnostics and therapeutic procedures. The forum was divided into two parts:

Medical and Technical Presentations: The organizers shared their research on versatile, modular, and affordable robotic solutions that could make advanced healthcare accessible worldwide. These innovative technologies demonstrated potential applications across diagnostic, surgical, and rehabilitation fields, emphasizing sustainability and usability.

Round Table Discussion with Funders: Representatives from various funding institutions joined a round table discussion to explore new avenues for supporting affordable medical robotics. This discussion, aimed at tackling certification hurdles and promoting ethical investment, also engaged experts from healthcare, economics, engineering, and the medical device industry to uncover “blind spots” in translating these innovations into practice.

🗓️ THURSDAY 17TH OCT – Forum

“Sustainable Medical and Surgical Robotics: Making Advanced Healthcare Accessible”

Organized by Prof. Paolo Fiorini (Altair Laboratory, Needleye Robotics), Prof. Pietro Valdastri (University of Leeds), Prof. Kinda Khalaf (Khalifa University), Prof. Tim Horeman (Delft University of Technology), Dr. James Chandler (University of Leeds), Prof. David Jayne (University of Leeds), Dr. Franziska Mathis-Ullrich (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg), Prof. Hongliang Ren (The Chinese University of Hong Kong), Prof. Ferdinando Rodriguez Y Baena (Imperial College London), Prof. Emmanuel Vander Poorten (KU Leuven) 

Speakers:

• • Melkamu Hunegnaw Asmare (Leuven Center for Affordable Healthcare Technology, Belgium)
  • Pietro Valdastri (University of Leeds, UK)
  • Roel Horeman (Delft University of Technology, Netherlands)
  • Hongliang Ren (Chinese University of Hong Kong, PRC)
  • Franziska Mathis-Ullrich (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany)