Engineer brings 'surgineering' mindset to future of medicine

Farshid Alambeigi is a Rice University engineer working towards a futuristic vision in medicine. He refers to his ambitious research as "the sci-fi project" - developing robotic technology to manufacture living tissue and potentially functional organs for transplantation. Instead of transplanting organs from one human to another, this future involves printing a liver on a 3D printer and implanting it into the body.

Alambeigi, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, finds tackling seemingly impossible problems exciting and drives his work. His research spans engineering, robotics, AI, medical imaging, advanced manufacturing and surgery. He operates at the intersection of the engineering lab and operating room, aiming to create technologies surgeons will actually use.

This approach, coined "surgineering," starts with conversations with surgeons to understand their needs and challenges. By building prototypes and gathering feedback, Alambeigi ensures the technologies fit into the existing crowded operating room environment. While robotic surgery has extended surgeons' capabilities, there is no one-size-fits-all surgical robot.

Alambeigi focuses on flexible and continuum robots designed to bend and navigate through complex anatomy. He is also exploring how AI can support surgeons by interpreting information, anticipating challenges, and aiding decision-making during procedures. This mindset of AI is to augment humans, not replace them. Alambeigi's journey into robotic bioprinting began accidentally, inspired by a conversation with biomaterials researchers.

He aims to develop robotic systems to precisely place and organize biological material for clinical use, with the long-term goal of creating living tissue to repair damaged muscle or create replacement tissues and organs.