WPI Journal - The Magazine for WPI Alumni

WINTER 2015

The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)

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18 Winter 2015 W π T his past November WPI offered a new twist for all live music afcionados who love to watch the improvisa- tional and innovative ways musicians interact in a live concert. Sonic Currents, the brainchild of Scott Barton, assistant professor of music and director of WPI's Music Perception and Robotics Lab, debuted what he hopes will be one of many concerts that fuse human and electronic improv styles. "This was a brand-new concert series, with a good turnout and all the technology worked—which was an accomplishment, considering the complexity and diversity of the pieces on the program," says Barton with a laugh. The music blended both human composers and musicians with robots that play composed music and responded musically and autonomously to the human's choices. All performers and composers are professionals that Barton has worked with or has personal connections with; they include Ted Coffey, Aurie Hsu, Steven Kemper, Yuri Spitsyn, and Matt Malsky. jam Robots and Humans Make Music in Sonic Currents Concert coming soon Dr. Robot On Call A TEAM OF WPI ROBOTICS ENGINEERS, in collaboration with colleagues at Johns Hopkins University, Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), and Acoustic MedSystems Inc. are developing a robotic system that can operate inside the bore of an MRI scanner. The project is currently being tested as part of a biomedical research partnership program at BWH with the aim of determin- ing if the robot, in conjunction with real-time MRI images, can make prostate cancer biopsies faster, more accurate, less costly, and less discomforting for the patient. The novel system also has the potential to deliver prostate cancer therapies with greater precision. The "frst-in-human" testing of the robotic system is the culmi- nation of more than six years of research and development by Greg Fischer, associate professor of mechanical engineering and robotics engineering at WPI and director of WPI's Automation and Interventional Medicine (AIM) Robotics Research Laboratory. Fischer has also pioneered, along with his colleagues from the Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics (LCSR) at Johns Hopkins University, electronic control systems and soft- ware needed to operate the robots. "The robot gives the physician a great deal more choice about where to place the biopsy needle," Fischer said. "This technology should permit greater accuracy, and the odds of hitting the target on the frst try should be higher. The anticipated result is fewer needle placements with higher sensitivity, a faster procedure, less need for repeated biopsies, lower overall cost, and reduced discomfort for the patient." In Fischer's AIM lab (aimlab.wpi.edu), work is also under way on a next-generation robotic system that, in addition to positioning a needle guide, will also robotically actuate the insertion and help steer the needle to a target of interest. "We hope to be able to test that system with patients in a year or so," Fischer says. "We are also looking forward to collaborating with Brigham and Women's Hospital and other partners to test the use of our system not just in prostate cancer diagnosis, but to deliver therapy, whether brachytherapy or ablation therapy."

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