Members of the Robotics Engineering And Computing for Healthcare (REACH)
Group Director
- Dr David Western, Wallscourt Fellow in Health Technology
Academic members and researchers
- Dr Sunday Atuba, Senior Lecturer in Electronic Engineering
- Professor Carlos Cifuentes, Associate Professor in Human-Robot Interaction
- Dr Appolinaire Etoundi, Senior Lecturer in Mechatronics and Researcher in Rehabilitation Robotics
- Dr Chris Harper, Research Fellow - Robotics Safety and Control
- Dr Aghil Jafari, Senior Lecturer in Robotics
- Dr Praveen Kumar, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy
- Dr Marcela Munera, Associate Professor: Assistive Robotics
- Dr Faatihah Niyi-Odumosu, Senior Lecturer in Applied Human Physiology
- Dr Ann Smith, Wallscourt Fellow in Health Technology
- Dr Dan Withey, Lecturer in Intelligent Assistive Robotics
- Dr Alex Yue, Senior Lecturer in Bio-instrumentation
Affiliate members
- Dr Deborah Adkins, Wallscourt Fellow in Sustainable Buildings
- Dr Rana Al Barazi, Programme Leader, and Senior Lecturer in Engineering Management
- Dr Zeyad Al-Shibaany, Mechatronics
- Dr Maryam Atoofi, Senior Lecturer in Engineering
- Dr Mary Cramp, Associate Head of Department (Research Innovation and Knowledge Exchange for the School of Health and Social Wellbeing) and Associate Professor for Long Term Conditions
- Dr Tillie Curran, Visiting Fellow - Disability Studies
- Dr Abdul Farooq , Associate Head of Department - Business Engagement and Partnerships
- Dr Andy Gibson, Associate Professor in Patient and Public Involvement
- Professor Nigel Harris, Director of Innovation and Growth (West of England Academic Health Science Network)
- Professor Jun Hong, Professor in Artificial Intelligence
- Dr Carlos Insaurralde, Senior Lecturer in Electronic Engineering and Programme Leader BEng(Hons) Robotics
- Dr Kris Kinsey, Associate Head - Department of Health and Social Sciences
- Dr Marianthi Leon, Associate Head of Department for Research and Scholarship, Department of Engineering, Design and Mathematics
- Dr Alison Llewellyn, Associate Professor in Clinical Research
- Dr Michael Loizou, Wallscourt Associate Professor in Health Technology and Life Sciences
- Dr Tom Mitchell, Associate Professor in Creative Technologies
- Dr Faatihah Niyi-Odumosu, Senior Lecturer in Applied Physiology
- Dr Matt O’Donnell, Senior Lecturer in Structures and Composites
- Dr Chollette Olisah, Research Fellow - Computer Vision and Machine Learning
- Dr Matthew Studley, Wallscourt Associate Professor in Technology Ethics Associate
- Dr Abby Tabor, Wallscourt Fellow in Mental Health and Well-being
- Dr Ning Wang, Senior Lecturer in Robotics
- Professor Chenguang Yang, Professor of Robotics
- Dr Wenhao Zhang, Senior Lecturer in Machine Vision
- Dr Nancy Zook, Associate Professor in Psychology
Visiting staff
- Dr Virginia Ruiz Garate, Visiting Professor
Current PhD students
Matthew Holt
Thesis title: Advanced lower-limb prosthetics.
Director of Studies: Dr Appolinaire Etoundi.
Additional supervision: Dr Aghil Jafari.
Isaac Jordan
Thesis title: EEG brain-computer interfaces for the application of assistive robotics.
Director of Studies: Dr Dan Withey.
Additional supervisors:
- Dr Virginia Ruiz Garate
- Benjamin Metcalfe (University of Bath).
Link:
Patrik Kamenicek
Thesis title: Automated physiotherapy: Advancing 3D vision and deep learning for body movement assessment.
Director of Studies: Professor Lyndon Smith.
Additional supervisors:
Patrik is a full-time Graduate Tutor at UWE Bristol. Apart from being employed as a Graduate Tutor, he is a dedicated part-time PhD student who is undertaking innovative research to automate and enhance physiotherapy practices. With a robust academic background in computer vision, machine learning, and robotics, acquired from the Master's degree from the University of Central Lancashire, Patrik's five-year project focuses on leveraging cutting-edge technologies like Azure Kinect's RGB-D 3D camera and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN).
This ambitious research, titled Automated physiotherapy: Advancing 3D vision and deep learning for body movement assessment, addresses critical challenges in physiotherapy, data analysis, camera technology, and machine vision, tackling subjective assessments, patient engagement, and privacy concerns associated with virtual physiotherapy. Patrik's methodology combines 3D and 2D cameras, kinematic models, and CNNs and body tracking algorithms for precise assessment of human body movements during exercises.
Aligned with broader societal challenges, Patrik's research contributes to advancements in artificial intelligence, addresses the needs of an ageing society, and promotes clean growth through reduced carbon emissions. The ultimate goal is to provide valuable insights, improve virtual physiotherapy efficiency, and promote inclusivity and accessibility in healthcare services.
Bethany Mackey
Thesis title: Immersive control of a humanoid robot surrogate for users in palliative care.
Director of Studies: Dr Paul Bremner
Additional supervisor: Professor Manuel Giuliani
Publications:
- Sturgeon (Mackey), B., Payne, T., Mason, S., and Nwosu, A. (2017). O-7 Robotic technology and palliative care education: the development of a ‘nao robot’ computer program. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, 7 (Suppl 1), A2.4-A3. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2017-00133.7
- Nwosu, A. C., Sturgeon (Mackey), B., McGlinchey, T., Goodwin, C. D. G., Behera, A., Mason, S., … Payne, T. R. (2019). Robotic technology for palliative and supportive care: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Palliative Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269216319857628
- Bethany Ann Mackey, Paul A. Bremner, and Manuel Giuliani. 2020. Immersive control of a robot surrogate for users in palliative care. In Companion of the 2020 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI '20). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 585–587. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3371382.3377445
- Bethany Ann Mackey, Paul A. Bremner, and Manuel Giuliani. 2020. The effect of Virtual Reality control of a robotic surrogate on presence and social presence in comparison to telecommunications software. In Companion of the 2020 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI '20). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 349–351. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3371382.3378268
Luigi A Moretti
Thesis title: Integrating affective computing and smart sensing into treatment pathways for anxiety disorders.
Director of Studies: Dr David Western.
Additional supervisors:
Luigi A. Moretti (he/him) is a medical doctor (MD) by training with a multidisciplinary bent. His career has been built on the ability to combine the skills and perspectives of medicine and technology. With hands-on involvement in the development of innovative digital products within startups and collaborations with various universities, he holds an MSc in Health Technology. Currently sponsored by UWE Bristol, Luigi is dedicated to co-designing an affective computing-based solution for mental health, specifically targeting anxiety disorders. His objective is to gather objective, interpretable and longitudinal data to support patient awareness and engagement, and to provide clinicians with an additional source of information to complement standard approaches such as self-report surveys.
Additional links:
Oluwaseun Oguntoyinbo
Thesis title: Robotics in UK healthcare establishments: A socio-economic intervention towards organisational development.
Director of Studies: Dr Rana Al Barazi.
Additional supervisors:
Emanuel Nunez Sardinha, Graduate Tutor
Thesis title: Accessible interfaces for tetraplegia: Eye-gaze control of multi-DOF systems.
Director of Studies: Dr Macela Munera.
Additional supervisors:
Emanuel Nunez Sardinha is a candidate for PhD in Robotics at Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL). He is a roboticist with an ample international background, working with new assistive devices to enhance the independence of people with tetraplegia. He is a multidisciplinary researcher focused on robots to help vulnerable people, currently developing tools for people with paralysis to regain independence and improve their quality of life. Emanuel concentrates on eye-controlled technology, working directly with users, and body instrumentation.
Some of Emanuel's previous projects/work involved designing soft prosthetics, microscope accessories and lots of social work. Previous collaborations include online data classification with the Assisted Living Studio at the BRL, design tasks with BIOMAP-3D at Universidad Carlos III in Madrid in an ERC-funded project, and with the Georgia Institute of Technology in the bio-medicine department at the Butera Lab.
Emanuel is currently a lecturer at UWE Bristol, teaching electronics, human-robot interaction, and assistive robotics. If you are interested in working on robotics projects with social impact, please contact Emanuel.
Links:
Kaya Sinclair
Thesis title: Intelligent sensing and feedback for a semi-autonomous shared-control early-years powered mobility device for disabled children.
Director of Studies: Professor Praminda Caleb-Solly
Additional supervisor: Dr Steve Battle
Jane Turk
Thesis title: Cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis.
Director of Studies: Dr Kris Kinsey
Additional supervisors:
- Dr Chris Alford
- Dr David Western.
Yixuan Zhu
Thesis title: Enabling artificial intelligence for clinical neurophysiology.
Director of Studies: Dr David Western.
Additional supervisor:
Yixuan Zhu is currently engaged in a project titled "Enabling artificial intelligence for clinical neurophysiology". His work primarily involves utilising machine learning techniques, especially deep learning, to analyse EEG data. This analysis aids in the diagnosis and examination of Multiple Sclerosis and its associated cognitive impairments. With a background in mathematics from his undergraduate studies, Yixuan is now focused on machine learning. He is passionate about the theoretical and technical aspects of machine learning, as well as its applications and implementations across various fields. Yixuan has a keen interest in analying diverse forms of data, including speech, images, videos, and medical imagery, and is proficient in various machine learning techniques, such as supervised, unsupervised, and self-supervised learning.
Completed PhD students
Joseph Bolarinwa
Thesis title: Investigating optimal sensory feedback modalities for effective tele-operation of a robot to provide remote assistance for assisted living tasks.
Director of Studies: Professor Praminda Caleb-Solly
Additional supervisors: Professor Sanja Dogramadzi; Dr Tom Mitchell
Antonella Camilleri
Thesis title: Risk assessment and situational awareness for safe HRI in assistive robots
Director of Studies: Professor Praminda Caleb-Solly
Additional supervisors: Professor Jun Hong; Professor Sanja Dogramadzi
Prankit Gupta
Thesis title: Intelligent data processing to support self-management and responsive car
Director of Studies: Professor Praminda Caleb-Solly
Additional supervisors: Professor Richard McClatchey; Professor Ala Azczepura (Coventry University)
Linda Sumpter
Thesis title: Technology enhanced workforce efficiency in community rehabilitation and reablement services: Skill mix, service delivery, user acceptance and cost-effectiveness.
Director of Studies: Professor Jane Powell
Additional supervisors: Professor Praminda Caleb-Solly; Dr Ailie Turton
Anouk van Maris
Thesis title: Ethical implications of embedding emotional behaviour in socially interactive robots for older adult.
Director of Studies: Professor Praminda Caleb-Solly
Additional supervisors: Dr Nancy Zook; Dr Matthew Studley; Professor Sanja Dogramadzi
Katie Winkle
Thesis title: Learning how to help: Social robots in therapy.
Director of Studies: Dr Paul Bremner
Additional supervisor: Professor Praminda Caleb-Solly; Dr Ailie Turton
You may also be interested in
About Robotics Engineering And Computing for Healthcare (REACH)
An overview of the research areas within REACH.
Members of the Robotics Engineering And Computing for Healthcare (REACH)
List of REACH members, researchers and students.
Outreach
List of REACH's partners, resources and key links.