Pietro Valdastri

A collaboration between international and Vanderbilt University researchers is helping to update a tried-and-true medical technology for the 21st century. The development of an intelligent and autonomous Magnetic Flexible Endoscope holds the promise of making colonoscopies safer, less painful, more widely available and less expensive. The article “Enabling the future of colonoscopy with intelligent and... Read More

Modernized endoscopic system blends robotics and magnetic coupling to improve medical procedures, starting with colonoscopies. Read More

High school students performing advanced research at Vanderbilt have the opportunity to share their findings with the scientific community through a journal of their own. Read More

Researchers around the globe who want to customize medical capsule robots won’t have to start from scratch – a team from Vanderbilt University School of Engineering did the preliminary work for them and is ready to share. Read More

In the latest QuickVU: See the imaging breakthrough that could transform cancer treatment; find out which snack could save your heart; and learn how magnets could make recovery from surgery easier and faster. Watch now! Read More

A team of Vanderbilt engineers is using magnetic force to design new and improved instruments for minimally invasive surgery. Read More

Pietro Valdastri, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, and postdoctoral scholar Ekawahyu Susilo will begin Valdastri’s second run as principal investigator in the NSF I-Corps program as they explore the commercial potential of modular open-source architecture for building capsule robots. Read More

Vanderbilt computer scientists have been awarded the Conference on Embedded Networked Sensor Systems' Test of Time Award, given to papers making long-lasting academic and practical impacts that were published at least 10 years ago. Read More

Mechanical engineering professor Pietro Valdastri and colleagues will continue to develop a capsule endoscope for colonoscopy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease with the support of a 4-year, $1.5 million NIH grant. Read More

Two Vanderbilt engineers participated in the SmartAmerica Challenge EXPO in Washington D.C. Read More

Vanderbilt has received a competitive award to establish a new outreach program training its students to become ambassadors in engineering education for area middle- and high-school students. Read More

A team of engineers and doctors have developed a new wireless capsule that can give surgeons back their sense of touch when performing minimally invasive surgery. Read More

Byron Smith was eager to increase the number of people who get screened for colorectal cancer each year. His dedication has led to a new venture – EndoInSight – and a National Science Foundation Innovation Corps Program grant to commercialize a tool for an almost painless colonoscopy. Read More

In the foreseeable future, robots will be sticking steerable needles in your brain to remove blood clots; capsule robots will be crawling up your colon as a painless replacement for the colonoscopy; and ultra-miniaturized snake robots will remove tumors from your bladder and other body cavities. Read More

Four Vanderbilt School of Engineering faculty members have been awarded a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to create new tools, including a web-based modeling and simulation infrastructure, intended to help speed up the development of miniature medical capsule robots. Read More

Pietro Valdastri, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and member of the Vanderbilt Initiative in Surgery and Engineering (ViSE), was awarded with the OLYMPUS ISCAS Best Paper Award at the 16th Annual Conference of the International Society for Computer Aided Surgery (ISCAS) June 30 in Pisa, Italy. Read More

Mechanical Engineering graduate students David Comber and Massimiliano Simi have won first and second place in the Three-in-Five competition at the Design of Medical Devices Conference. Read More

Bioengineer builds robotics to make medical procedures easier Pietro Valdastri (John Russell/Vanderbilt) The prospect of a colonoscopy is about as unwelcome as a root canal, so it’s no surprise that it’s difficult to convince people to get regular screenings for colon cancer. But what if you could replace this… Read More

A complete list of new faculty for the 2011-12 academic year Blair School of Music Dikeman Philip Dikeman, associate professor of flute B.M., Oberlin… Read More