Robert Webster
And the Beat Goes On: A resilient Vanderbilt community finds innovative ways to thrive amid the challenges of COVID-19
May. 14, 2020—As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to upend lives in countless ways, members of the Vanderbilt community have shown remarkable resilience in the face of the crisis.
VU engineers and VUMC doctors team up for open-source ventilator design
Mar. 27, 2020—As COVID-19 continues to push unprecedented challenges on medical communities, one of the most pressing threats for hospital staff across the country is a dwindling supply of ventilators. Now, an interdisciplinary team of Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center faculty is taking on the challenge by way of a fabricated, open-source ventilator design.
New VURC Subcommittee for International Research and Engagement formed
Nov. 18, 2019—Faculty have been named to a new subcommittee formed by the Vanderbilt University Research Council to provide governance for the GlobalVU initiative.
Hand-held robot points to less invasive prostate surgery
Jul. 18, 2019—Vanderbilt collaborators focused on minimally invasive prostate surgery are developing an endoscopic robotic system with two-handed dexterity at a much smaller scale than existing options.
Hand-held robot points to less invasive prostate surgery
Jul. 18, 2019—Vanderbilt collaborators focused on minimally invasive prostate surgery are developing an endoscopic robotic system with two-handed dexterity at a much smaller scale than existing options. A key part of the design – telescoping, curved, concentric tubes – received U.S. patent protection in March 2019, the same month the principal investigators secured a $2.1 million R01...
Endowed chair holder celebration honors eight faculty members
Feb. 28, 2019—Vanderbilt’s newest endowed chair holders were celebrated for their path-breaking scholarship and research by family members, donors, colleagues and friends during a Feb. 25 ceremony.
Team to develop steerable robotic needle for biopsies
Oct. 26, 2017—Collaboration between a mechanical engineer at Vanderbilt University and a pulmonologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has resulted in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grant that will be used to develop a steerable robotic needle to safely biopsy hard-to-reach lung nodules.
Team developing imaging upgrade for robotic surgery
Oct. 12, 2017—Removing part of a kidney with minimally invasive robotic surgery rather than an entire kidney when operating for smaller tumors is often best for patients from a recovery and health standpoint, but many surgeons hesitate to do so because of the complexity of the robotic partial nephrectomy procedure.
How six cups of ground coffee can improve nose, throat surgery
Jun. 20, 2017—Vanderbilt engineers have designed a “granular jamming cap” filled with coffee grounds that can improve the accuracy of the sophisticated “GPS” system that surgeons use for nose and throat surgery.
Tiny mechanical wrist gives new dexterity to needlescopic surgery
Jul. 23, 2015—VIDEO» A Vanderbilt research team has successfully created a mechanical wrist less than 1/16th of an inch thick -- small enough to use in needlescopic surgery, the smallest form of minimally invasive surgery.
Brain Surgery through the Cheek
Dec. 23, 2014—For those most severely affected, epilepsy treatment means drilling through the skull deep into the brain to destroy the small area where seizures originate—invasive, dangerous, and requiring a long recovery period. Five years ago a team of Vanderbilt engineers wondered: Is it possible to address epileptic seizures in a less invasive way?
Brain surgery through the cheek
Oct. 15, 2014—Vanderbilt engineers have developed a surgical robot designed to perform brain surgery by entering through the cheek instead of the skull.