Athanasios Martsopoulos

Email: uz19338@bristol.ac.uk

Supervisors: Antonia Tzemanaki and Tom Hill

PhD Project Title: Simulation of flexible needle steering

Research Group: Medical Robotics

Biography

I am a Mechanical Engineer with a great passion for modelling, simulation and control of dynamical systems. I have professional experience in both software and hardware development for aerospace and robotics applications. Skilled in C++, Python, C and Javascript. My interests and experience cover a wide range of tools and technologies, including mathematical modelling of dynamical systems, control systems design, high-performance computing, computer graphics, computer vision, CAD, ROS and embedded systems. I hold a MEng in Mechanical Engineering (First-Class Honours) and I am currently pursuing my PhD in Robotics at the University of Bristol.

My PhD focuses on creating high-fidelity mathematical models that aim to enhance our understanding of the physics of minimally invasive surgery and facilitate the development of robot-assisted surgery solutions.

For this, my PhD focuses on:

> The development of mathematical and computational tools, based on the theory of continuum mechanics and flexible multibody dynamics, that allow the modelling of both soft human tissue and flexible surgical instruments.

> Experimental studies that aim to reveal the mechanical and material properties of the soft human tissue and the underlying interaction dynamics (contact mechanics) of tissues with surgical instruments.

> Development of real-time physics-based simulations, path-planning and control algorithms for robotic manipulators (ROS).

The wide breadth of my PhD thesis has allowed me to:

> Develop advanced mathematical models that combine and integrate tools from continuum mechanics, contact mechanics and flexible multibody dynamics.

> Develop an advanced physics-based surgical simulator, with the help of C++ and OpenGL, that focuses on aspects of both accuracy and computational efficiency.

> Implement computer vision algorithms for the real-time motion tracking of deformable bodies (Digital Image Correlation, Photogrammetry).

> Explore concepts of algorithmic efficiency and parallel programming with the help of the CUDA and OpenMP frameworks.