{"id":337213,"date":"2026-06-15T16:54:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/337213\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T16:54:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:54:08","slug":"proteins-to-precision-robotics-texas-researchers-partner-to-break-ground-in-cancer-care-ut-austin-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/337213\/","title":{"rendered":"Proteins to Precision Robotics: Texas Researchers Partner To Break Ground in Cancer Care &#8211; UT Austin News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                Surgery Is a Team Sport<\/p>\n<p>Pioneers of surgineering <a href=\"https:\/\/faculty.mdanderson.org\/profiles\/jeffrey_siewerdsen.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jeff Siewerdsen<\/a>, Ph.D., and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.me.utexas.edu\/people\/faculty-directory\/alambeigi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Farshid Alambeigi<\/a>, Ph.D., are working with leading surgeons such as <a href=\"https:\/\/faculty.mdanderson.org\/profiles\/justin_bird.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Justin Bird<\/a>, M.D., and biomaterials experts such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.me.utexas.edu\/people\/faculty-directory\/tilton\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Maryam Tilton<\/a>, Ph.D., to integrate computational models, patient-specific implants, and surgical robotics to shape a new standard of care.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIG-RABIT is tackling challenges at the cutting edge of orthopedic cancer surgery,\u201d said Bird, professor of Orthopedic Oncology at UT MD Anderson. \u201cSuccessful translation of these advances in surgical guidance, robotic assistance and patient-specific implants will have major benefits to patients.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The team aims to improve all ends of treatment. Drawing on UT MD Anderson\u2019s deep volume of tumor imaging and clinical data, Bird creates imaging models that chart the least invasive path of surgery. Tilton and others infuse a biomaterials perspective, assessing and designing implants that better withstand the body\u2019s mechanics and adapt to a patient\u2019s bones and tissues over time. Reimagining the surgery itself, Alambeigi and Siewerdsen work in different areas of surgineering, which places engineers in surgical workflows to enhance procedures, outcomes and patient safety.<\/p>\n<p>With both patient and surgeon in mind, Alambeigi is designing a robotic device that follows the safer, less-invasive paths from Bird\u2019s imaging models. Guided by a surgeon, it inserts Tilton\u2019s anatomy-friendly implants with precision, and far less physical and mental strain.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, Siewerdsen has his eyes on the operating room. He\u2019s creating digital twins that account for each tweak and iteration in the project \u2014 simulations that mimic clinicians and patients in the OR and test outcomes of the procedure in different scenarios. His goal is to measure successful performance of the entire workflow so the team can translate the project in real-world clinical studies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight now everything is manual,\u201d says Alambeigi, a core faculty member at Texas Robotics, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and director of the Advanced Robotic Technologies for Surgery Lab at UT. \u201cImagine how hard it is to draw a straight line. Surgeons are using ultrasonic blades and planning entire procedures in their head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a holistic solution beyond the day of surgery. From biomechanics to clinical workflow to robotic technologies and biomaterials, we\u2019re simulating everything together in parallel to increase the accuracy, safety and precision of these procedures.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Surgery Is a Team Sport Pioneers of surgineering Jeff Siewerdsen, Ph.D., and Farshid Alambeigi, Ph.D., are working with&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337214,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3436,23466,8014,13177,33091,584,14172,3620,858,23072,27,23470,29,28],"class_list":["post-337213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-austin-impact","tag-cockrell-school-of-engineering","tag-dell-medical-school","tag-digital-twins","tag-health","tag-life-sciences","tag-oden-institute-for-computational-engineering-sciences","tag-research","tag-robotics","tag-texas","tag-texas-advanced-computing-center","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}