Summary: Following the success of the 2018 and 2019 International Symposium on Medical Robotics (ISMR), 2020 ISMR
will be held in Atlanta, GA, US from April 22nd to 24th, 2020. Our aim is to provide support through this R13 grant for
selected students and trainees each year to attend and present their research work at this symposium. We plan to provide 75
travel awards in 3 years for 2020, 2021 and 2022 ISMR events (25 awards per year). The selected individuals will include
post-doc, graduate, and undergraduate students, and underrepresented groups and minorities. We would like to sponsor as
many attendees as possible, as the symposium will serve as a valuable source of knowledge and discussion in medical
robotics.
3 keynote speakers and 3 semi-plenary speakers, as the leaders in medical robotics as well as in clinical practice,
will present findings in fundamental, applied, and translational research in each year of the ISMR events. Topics will include
robot-assisted surgery, rehabilitation robotics, assistive robotics, and robot-assisted image-guided interventions. Other
guests, including trainees and students who submit their papers to the symposium, will be selected to present at the oral and
poster presentation sessions. Audience members will have a chance to engage in discussion with each lecturer at the close
of each presentation.
In keeping with the interdisciplinary nature of the medical robotics field, we expect attendance by clinicians,
engineers, researchers, and medical device industry. Attendees with diverse experiences and perspectives will contribute
valuable discussions, and we expect the symposium to give rise to high impact collaborations. Emphasis will be placed on
researching and developing medical robots that address clinical pain points, and successfully translate from benchtop to
bedside, making real impact in hospital settings.