# Topics > Entities > Scientific institutions >  Medical Engineering and Discovery Lab, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

## Airicist

Website - research.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/MEDlab

youtube.com/@vanderbiltmedlab6463

Director - Robert Webster

Projects:

a wrist for needle-sized surgical robots

----------


## Airicist

Faculty Seminar: Re-engineering Surgery -- The Rise of Robots in the Operating Room 

 Published on Jul 24, 2012




> Watch video of Robert J. Webster III's talk which covers several examples of novel surgical robots, ranging from "tentacle-like" robots that are the diameter of needles for endonasal surgery, to swallowable endoscopic capsule robots that can accomplish surgery in the intestines and are thus making the Fantastic Voyage foreseen by Asimov a reality. Robots are becoming increasingly valuable surgical devices, enabling physicians to reach into the body less invasively and treat diseases more accurately than has ever before been possible. Vanderbilt is at the forefront of this area of research, establishing the Vanderbilt Initiative for Surgery and Engineering this year, a unique partnership between the schools of Engineering and Medicine.
> 
> Robert J. Webster III, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has published more than 60 peer-reviewed papers in the areas of surgical robotics and medical device design, and is a recipient of the IEEE Volz award for Ph.D. thesis impact, and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award. He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Clemson University in 2002, and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 2004 and 2007, respectively.

----------


## Airicist

Robot treats brain clots with steerable needles 

 Published on Aug 7, 2013




> A collaboration between Vanderbilt mechanical engineer Robert Webster and neurosurgeon Kyle Weaver has designed a special robotic system that uses tiny, steerable needles to suction out brain clots formed by intracranial hemorrhaging.

----------


## Airicist

Robotic Endonasal Skull Base Surgery With Tentacle-Like Manipulators 

Published on Dec 4, 2014

----------


## Airicist

Bio-Inspired Tendon-Operated Continuum Robotics 

Published on Dec 3, 2014




> Curved tendons can provide new capabilities to robots that look and act like elephant's trunks or octopus tentacles

----------


## Airicist

Robotic Endonasal Skull Base Surgery With Tentacle-Like Manipulators 

Published on Dec 4, 2014

----------

