Registration is now OPEN! • Announcing our Keynote Speakers for 2026!
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Symposium
Coffee & Registration 08:00 - 08:30
Main Hall & Marquee
08:30 - 08:45
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Welcome Address

Conference Co-Chair:
Professor The Lord Darzi of Denham
Imperial College London
Professor Darzi holds the Paul Hamlyn Chair of Surgery at Imperial College London, the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research. He is Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London and Chair of Imperial College Health Partners. He is an Honorary Consultant Surgeon at Imperial College Hospital NHS Trust. His research is directed towards achieving best surgical practice through innovation in surgery, enhancing patient safety and the quality of healthcare.

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08:45 - 09:30
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Augmenting Surgical Perception

Keynote Speaker:
Dr. Katherine J. Kuchenbecker
Director, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS)
Chair: Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena
Imperial College London
Abstract: While offering clinical and ergonomic benefits, teleoperated surgical robots substantially change the perceptual feedback available to surgeons. Direct manipulation heavily relies on touch, but most robots provide no haptic feedback due to challenges in both sensing and closed-loop stability. About 15 years ago, my team invented a practical and effective way to add haptic feedback to such systems. VerroTouch measures, transmits, and actuates the naturalistic instrument vibrations that are mainly caused by transient contact; this type of vibrotactile feedback facilitates acquisition and evaluation of surgical skill. Contact forces can also be estimated by visually observing the instruments and the soft materials they touch, much as experienced surgeons do. Though more developed than haptics, the visual feedback provided by teleoperated surgical robots can also be improved. Surgeons appreciate our interactive approach to visual augmented reality, particularly praising voice commands and accurate 3D measurements. Finally, we have come to believe that viewing the surgical field from a single stereoscopic viewpoint limits depth perception, anatomical visibility, safety, and future autonomy. We thus recently created the first da Vinci Research Kit with two controllable stereo endoscopes and are exploring the potential of multi-view surgical telerobotics.
Katherine J. Kuchenbecker is a Director at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) in Stuttgart, Germany, and an Honorary Professor at the University of Stuttgart. She earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering with Günter Niemeyer at Stanford University in 2006, did postdoctoral research with Allison M. Okamura at the Johns Hopkins University, and was an engineering professor in the GRASP Lab at the University of Pennsylvania from 2007 to 2016.

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09:30 - 10:30
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Session 1: TBC

Session Chairs: TBC
Coffee Break 10:30 - 11:00
Hall & Marquee
11:00 - 12:00
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Session2: TBC

Session Chairs: TBC
12:00 - 13:00
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Session 3: TBC

Session Chairs: TBC
Lunch & Exhibition 13:00 - 14:00
Hall, Marquee & Exhibition Centre
14:00 - 14:45
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Poster Teaser Session 1

Session Chairs: TBC
14:45 - 15:45
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Industry Forum

Coffee Break 15:45 - 16:15
Marquee & Hall
16:15 - 17:00
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Keynote Talk: Mr Massimiliano Colella

Chair: Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena
Imperial College London
Mr. Massimiliano Colella, is the Chief Executive Officer of CMR, where he leads the company’s global mission, strategic direction, and long-term development. With an extensive track record across the = healthcare ecosystem - including med-tech, hospital systems, and emerging health technologies - he is widely regarded for his ability to transform organisations, accelerate innovation, and deliver sustainable value.

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17:00 - 18:00
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Session 4: TBC

Session Chairs: TBC
18:00 - 19:00
Location: Hall & Exhibition Centre

Drinks Reception

All delegates and speakers are invited to join us for a drinks reception. Drinks and canapés are served in the Hall and Exhibition area.

 

Symposium
Registration & Coffee 08:00 - 08:30
Marquee & Hall
08:30 - 09:30
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Session 5: TBC

Session Chairs: TBC
09:30 - 10:15
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Keynote Talk: Dr. Gail Rosseau

Chair: Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena
Imperial College London
Dr. Gail Rosseau, is Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C. and Adjunct Professor of Global Neurosurgery at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, AZ. Her fellowship in microvascular and cranial base surgeon at University of Pittsburgh led to a career in skull base surgery, with a focus on pituitary tumors and microvascular compression syndromes.

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Coffee Break 10:15 - 10:45
Marquee & Hall
10:45 - 11:45
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Session 6: TBC

Session Chairs: TBC
11:45 - 12:45
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Session 7: TBC

Session Chairs: TBC
Lunch & Exhibition 12:45 - 13:45
Hall, Marquee & Exhibition Centre
13:45 - 14:30
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Poster Teaser Presentations: Session 2

Session Chairs: TBC
14:30 - 15:30
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Global Health Forum

Coffee Break 15:30 - 16:00
Hall & Marquee
16:00 - 17:00
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Session 8: TBC

Session Chairs: TBC
17:00 - 17:45
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Keynote Talk: Prof. Henrik I. Christensen

Chair: Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena
Imperial College London
Professor Henrik I. Christensen, Dr. Henrik I. Christensen is the Qualcomm Chancellor’s Chair of Robot Systems and a Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering UC San Diego. He is also the director of the Institute for Contextual Robotics. Prior to UC San Diego he was the founding director of Institute for Robotics and Intelligent machines (IRIM) at Georgia Institute of Technology (2006-2016).

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17:45 - 18:00
Location: Ondaateje Lecture Theatre

Awards & Closing Ceremony

Chairs:
Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena
Imperial College London
Robert Merrifield
Imperial College London