News & Agenda

Can robots take over the tasks of surgeons?

Shaking a baby violently can cause head and neck injuries, blindness and in some cases even death. Researchers at TU Delft, faculty of Mechanical Engineering, are using a dummy baby and computer models to map the accelerations that act on the head during shaking. They want to be able to assess the risk of injury more accurately. This could eventually lead to more clarity in legal cases on the subject.

Using a unique 3D printing process, TU Delft researchers produced hybrid multi-material interfaces that reached a remarkable closeness to nature’s design of bone-tendon connections.

Long waiting lists, delayed surgeries and high costs. According to professor of Medical Process Engineering, John van den Dobbelsteen, this is partly due to insufficient attention to the surgical process when implementing new technology. He wants to improve the interaction between medical staff and medical technology with the aim of reducing the workload. He will deliver his inaugural speech on 15 December.

Recently, researchers have been able to dive even deeper into materials. The arrival of a micro CT scanner at the faculty allows researchers to explore the invisible world.

Met slechts twee kleine sensoren, niet groter dan een twee euro munt, kunnen we nu het vermogen van rolstoelsporters meten met een indrukwekkende precisie van wel 2%.

In cases of upper airway obstruction, acute surgery to open the trachea just below the larynx is the only solution. Due to the rarity of this syndrome, doctors have very little experience with this life-saving procedure. Doctors at the Reinier de Graaf Hospital and students at TU Delft decided that this had to change. Together they developed a realistic and durable model of the larynx.