The Cognitive Vision in Robotic Surgery Lab is developing computer vision and AI techniques for intraoperative navigation and real-time tissue characterisation.

Head of Group

Dr Stamatia (Matina) Giannarou

411 Bessemer Building
South Kensington Campus

+44 (0) 20 7594 8904

What we do

Surgery is undergoing rapid changes driven by recent technological advances and our on-going pursuit towards early intervention and personalised treatment. We are developing computer vision and Artificial Intelligence techniques for intraoperative navigation and real-time tissue characterisation during minimally invasive and robot-assisted operations to improve both the efficacy and safety of surgical procedures. Our work will revolutionize the treatment of cancers and pave the way for autonomous robot-assisted interventions.

Why it is important?

With recent advances in medical imaging, sensing, and robotics, surgical oncology is entering a new era of early intervention, personalised treatment, and faster patient recovery. The main goal is to completely remove cancerous tissue while minimising damage to surrounding areas. However, achieving this can be challenging, often leading to imprecise surgeries, high re-excision rates, and reduced quality of life due to unintended injuries. Therefore, technologies that enhance cancer detection and enable more precise surgeries may improve patient outcomes.

How can it benefit patients?

Our methods aim to ensure patients receive accurate and timely surgical treatment while reducing surgeons' mental workload, overcoming limitations, and minimizing errors. By improving tumor excision, our hybrid diagnostic and therapeutic tools will lower recurrence rates and enhance survival outcomes. More complete tumor removal will also reduce the need for repeat procedures, improving patient quality of life, life expectancy, and benefiting society and the economy.

Meet the team

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Keir:2015:10.1086/682221,
author = {Keir, GJ and Nair, A and Giannarou, S and Yang, G-Z and Oldershaw, P and Wort, SJ and MacDonald, P and Hansell, DM and Wells, AU},
doi = {10.1086/682221},
journal = {Pulmonary Circulation},
pages = {498--505},
title = {Pulmonary vasospasm in systemic sclerosis: noninvasive techniques for detection},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/682221},
volume = {5},
year = {2015}
}

RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB - In a subgroup of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), vasospasm affecting the pulmonary circulation may contribute to worsening respiratory symptoms, including dyspnea. Noninvasive assessment of pulmonary blood flow (PBF), utilizing inert-gas rebreathing (IGR) and dual-energy computed-tomography pulmonary angiography (DE-CTPA), may be useful for identifying pulmonary vasospasm. Thirty-one participants (22 SSc patients and 9 healthy volunteers) underwent PBF assessment with IGR and DE-CTPA at baseline and after provocation with a cold-air inhalation challenge (CACh). Before the study investigations, participants were assigned to subgroups: group A included SSc patients who reported increased breathlessness after exposure to cold air (n = 11), group B included SSc patients without cold-air sensitivity (n = 11), and group C patients included the healthy volunteers. Median change in PBF from baseline was compared between groups A, B, and C after CACh. Compared with groups B and C, in group A there was a significant decline in median PBF from baseline at 10 minutes (−10%; range: −52.2% to 4.0%; P < 0.01), 20 minutes (−17.4%; −27.9% to 0.0%; P < 0.01), and 30 minutes (−8.5%; −34.4% to 2.0%; P < 0.01) after CACh. There was no significant difference in median PBF change between groups B or C at any time point and no change in pulmonary perfusion on DE-CTPA. Reduction in pulmonary blood flow following CACh suggests that pulmonary vasospasm may be present in a subgroup of patients with SSc and may contribute to worsening dyspnea on exposure to cold.
AU - Keir,GJ
AU - Nair,A
AU - Giannarou,S
AU - Yang,G-Z
AU - Oldershaw,P
AU - Wort,SJ
AU - MacDonald,P
AU - Hansell,DM
AU - Wells,AU
DO - 10.1086/682221
EP - 505
PY - 2015///
SN - 2045-8940
SP - 498
TI - Pulmonary vasospasm in systemic sclerosis: noninvasive techniques for detection
T2 - Pulmonary Circulation
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/682221
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/40258
VL - 5
ER -

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The Hamlyn Centre
Bessemer Building
South Kensington Campus
Imperial College
London, SW7 2AZ
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