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Lab News

STORM Lab second at the 2014 ASME Student Mechanism & Robot Design Competition

Aug. 25, 2014—August 2014. The work “Laparoscopic Retractor Based on Local Magnetic Actuation” by N. Garbin, C. Di Natali, J. Buzzi, E. De Momi, P. Valdastri and presented by Nicolò Garbin and Gabriel Scozzarro at the 2014 ASME Student Mechanism & Robot Design Competition in Buffalo, NY won the second place. Congratulations to everybody!

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New grad students starting in the STORM Lab

Aug. 18, 2014—August 2014. The STORM Lab welcomes Piotr Slavinsky from University of Nebraska — Lincoln and Nicolò Garbin from Politecnico di Milano as new graduate students in Mechanical Engineering. We also welcome Addisu Taddese, moving his research primarily on medical robotics at the STORM Lab. We wish you all a great success in research. May your...

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Moving to the new space

Aug. 15, 2014—August 15, 2014 (Ferragosto). After three years of operations in 600 sqft, the STORM Lab moves to a larger space (1,100 sqft). Here a quick peek to the new lab right after moving day.

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STORM Lab at ICRA 2014

Aug. 7, 2014—June 2014. Charreau S. Bell presented at ICRA 2014 in Hong Kong the study “Six DOF Pose Estimation for Teleoperated Flexible Endoscopes Using Optical Flow: A Comparative Study” carried on in collaboration with Gianluca Mariottini’s group at University of Texas — Arlington.

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Top 10 abstract at EUS 2014

Aug. 7, 2014—May 2014. The abstract “Laparoscopic wireless palpation probe: Feasibility of simulated tumor detection in a human prostate” by C. Mitchell, M. Beccani, C. Di Natali, A. Benson, S. D. Herrell, P. Valdastri was selected in the Top 10 for the Engineering and Urology Society Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL.

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STORM Lab at DDW 2014

Aug. 7, 2014—May 2014. The STORM Lab was present at Digestive Disease Weeks 2014 with one oral presentation and two posters. The oral presentation was titled “In Vivo Colonic Insufflation via a Disposable CO2 Insufflation System”, while the posters were about a wireless tablet application for remote collaboration and training in colonoscopy and an ultra low-cost endoscopy...

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The STORM Lab at the SmartAmerica EXPO

Jun. 4, 2014—The STORM Lab exhibited capsule robot technologies at the SmartAmerica EXPO – June 11, 2014 Washington DC Convention Center. The Expo showcased and celebrated progress made by 24 technical teams who took up the challenge to envision integrated systems of cyber and physical technologies that could improve our everyday lives. Read press coverage here.

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The first spin-off of the STORM Lab gets incorporated

Jun. 4, 2014—After completing the NSF sponsored I-Corps program, Byron Smith founded EndoInSight, Inc., the first company spinning off from the STORM Lab. Byron and EndoInSight are participating to the Zeroto510 program at the Memphis Bioworks Business Incubator in Memphis, TN. EndoInSight is developing a disposable carbon dioxide insufflator to reduce pain in colonoscopy and widen colorectal...

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Seminar at University of Melbourne

Jun. 4, 2014—May 1, 2014. Pietro Valdastri was invited to give the talk “Magnetic capsule robots for gastrointestinal endoscopy and abdominal surgery” at the University of Melbourne, within the Mechanical Engineering Seminar Series.

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The STORM Lab at the White House Smart America Challenge

Apr. 4, 2014—The STORM Lab will participate in the SmartAmerica Challenge Summit in June 2014 at the White House as part of the Closed Loop Healthcare Team. The SmartAmerica Challenge is bringing together organizations with Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) technology, programs, and test beds to demonstrate the potential to improve safety, sustainability, efficiency, mobility, and overall quality of...

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Addisu receives the NSF GRFP Fellowship

Apr. 4, 2014—April 3, 2014. Addisu receives the 2014 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Fellowship! Congratulation from all the members of the STORM Lab!!!

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Engineering Ambassadors Network Workshop

Apr. 4, 2014—March, 28-30. Vanderbilt University hosted the first workshop of the Engineering Ambassadors Node @ Vanderbilt. Fourteen Vanderbilt students were trained by Penn State educators and Vanderbilt advisors in giving effective presentations about STEM to middle and high school student. More details about the event here. More details about the Engineering Ambassadors Node @ Vanderbilt here.

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Wireless Palpation featured on the COVER of IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering

Jan. 31, 2014—An image from the paper “Wireless Tissue Palpation for Intraoperative Detection of Lumps in Soft Tissue” by M. Beccani, C. Di Natali, L. Sliker, J. Schoen, M. E. Rentschler, P. Valdastri was selected to appear on the front cover of IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering [ COVER ] [ FULL PAPER ]. The paper was...

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