# Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery Lab ### Welcome to the Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery (MRCAS) Lab website! ![MRCAS Lab logo](/sites/g/files/omnuum4736/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/mrcaslab/files/mrcas_logo_3_0.jpg?itok=95MFD8rU) #### MISSION: To Support, Improve, and Develop Human Performance in Surgery. The MRCAS Lab of Harvard Medical School and the VA Boston led by Dr. Marco Zenati is known for its inter-disciplinary and multi-institutional research occurring at the intersection of complex surgery, cognitive engineering, and computer science. #### Please take some time to explore more about us, our research, and the people involved in our work. ![Harvard Medical School logo](/sites/g/files/omnuum4736/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/mrcaslab/files/hms_logo_final_rgb_0.png?itok=C7h5AOnG) ![Veterans Affairs logo](/sites/g/files/omnuum4736/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/mrcaslab/files/va-logo.png?itok=jhfge8Xi) ## Recent News #### 2025 July - July 10, 2025: We have two abstracts selected for oral presentations (limited to top 30 submissions) at the [Conference on New Technologies for Computer and Robot Assisted Surgery (CRAS 2025)](https://cras-eu.org/cras-2025/)! - "Speech-Based Predictors of Nontechnical Skills Performance in Cardiac Surgery" - "Evaluation of a Novel Intelligent Interruption Management System in High-Fidelity Simulated Cardiac OR to Improve Surgical Safety" May - May 7, 2025: Dr. Marco Zenati will be a keynote speaker at the [Conference on New Technologies for Computer and Robot Assisted Surgery (CRAS 2025)](https://cras-eu.org/cras-2025/) in Lisbon, Portugal in September. *April* - April 16, 2025: The ["Toward Cognitive Digital Twins in Surgery" workshop](https://www.hamlynsymposium.org/events/toward-cognitive-digital-twins-in-surgery/) (June 27th; co-organized by Dr. Zenati) at [The Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics](https://www.hamlynsymposium.org/) is open for registration! - April 1, 2025: We have five abstracts accepted at [The Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics](https://www.hamlynsymposium.org/)! - "AI-Based Decision Support for Perfusionists during Cardiopulmonary Bypass" - "Voice Acoustic Patterns Predict Quality of Interprofessional Team Behavior in Cardiac Surgery" - "Impact of Surgical Flow Disruptions on Neuroergonomics in a High-Fidelity Cardiac Surgery Simulation Environment" - "Evaluation of Large Language Models to Detect Team Mental Model Misalignments During Cardiac Surgery Simulation Environment" - "Monitoring of Perfusionists’ Cognitive Load and Stress and Patients’ Oxygen Delivery during Cardiopulmonary Bypass in Cardiac Surgery" *March* - March 15, 2025: Dr. Sanjana Mendu presented our work on “Evaluation of a Novel Intelligent Interruption Management System in High-Fidelity Simulated Cardiac OR to Improve Surgical Safety” at the 14th Annual Harvard Surgery Research Day. *February* - February 19, 2025: Our joint workshop proposal titled "Toward Cognitive Digital Twins in Surgery" was accepted at [The Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics](https://www.hamlynsymposium.org/). *January* - January 10, 2025: Congratulations to Annette Martinez-Rioux on her new role as a National Research Nurse through the VA’s Cooperative Studies Program! Thank you for over 10 years of hard work in the MRCAS Lab. #### 2024 *October* - October 19, 2024: Dr. Jake Awtry presented our work on “Assessing Intraoperative Cognitive Workload by Leveraging Deep Learning Networks” at the [2024 ACS Clinical Congress](https://www.facs.org/for-medical-professionals/conferences-and-meetings/clinical-congress-2024/). - October 10-11, 2024: Dr. Marco Zenati served as Chairperson of the [NIH Bioengineering, Technology, and Surgical Sciences (BTSS) Study Section](https://public.csr.nih.gov/StudySections/DTCS/ISB/BTSS). *August* - Dr. Roger Dias presented our work on “[Exploring Intraoperative Cognitive Biases in Cardiac Surgery Teams](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11342855/)” at the [15th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2024)](https://www.ergonomics.org.au/events/ahfe-2024-international-conference/). *July* - July 29, 2024: Our work led by Dr. Lauren Kennedy-Metz on “[A Novel Multimodal, Intraoperative Cognitive Workload Assessment of Cardiac Surgery Team Members](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcvs.2024.07.050)” has been published in [The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery](https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/the-journal-of-thoracic-and-cardiovascular-surgery). - July 8, 2024: Welcome Dr. Sanjana Mendu, PhD to the MRCAS Lab! - July 1, 2024: Our work led by Dr. Rayan Harari on “[Deep Learning Analysis of Surgical Video Recordings to Assess Nontechnical Skills](https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.22520)” has been published in [JAMA Network Open](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen). *June* - June 25, 2024: The annual [Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics](https://www.hamlynsymposium.org/events/applying-surgical-data-science-in-robotic-surgery/) at Imperial College London had great participation among the MRCAS lab members: - Dr. Marco Zenati was an invited keynote speaker at the “[Applying Surgical Data Science in Robotic Surgery](https://www.hamlynsymposium.org/events/applying-surgical-data-science-in-robotic-surgery/)” workshop and co-organized the “[Hybrid Human-Machine Interaction in Surgery](https://www.hamlynsymposium.org/events/hybrid-human-machine-interaction-in-surgery/)” workshop. - Shrivatsa Mishra gave a poster presentation on “[Acoustic Patterns of Interprofessional Communication and Quality of Teamwork in the Cardiac Operating Theatre](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11285017/)” - Dr. Roger Dias gave a poster presentention on “[A Clinician-Centered Explainable Artificial Intelligence Framework for Decision Support in the Operating Theatre](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11285016/).” - Dr. Rayan Harari gave a poster presentation on “[Misalignment of Cognitive Processes within Cardiac Surgery Teams](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11287473/).” - Dr. Jake Awtry presented our work on “Accuracy of Machine Learning Predicting Intraoperative Cognitive Workload for AI-based Cognitive Guidance” at the “[Hybrid Human-Machine Interaction in Surgery](https://www.hamlynsymposium.org/events/hybrid-human-machine-interaction-in-surgery/)” workshop. - Dr. Matthew Gombolay and Zhaoxin Li presented our work on “Using ML for Perfusionists’ Decision Prediction for Robotic-Assisted Cardiopulmonary Bypass in Cardiac Surgery” at the “[Hybrid Human-Machine Interaction in Surgery](https://www.hamlynsymposium.org/events/hybrid-human-machine-interaction-in-surgery/)” workshop. *May* - May 30, 2024: Our book chapter led by Dr. Rayan Harari entitled “[Artificial intelligence in cardiothoracic surgery: current applications and future perspectives](https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-15688-5.00030-9)” was published in [Artificial Intelligence in Clinical Practice](https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780443156885/artificial-intelligence-in-clinical-practice). - May 8, 2024: Dr. Marco Zenati gave an invited seminar talk titled “Artificial Intelligence in the Operating Room” at the [University of Trento](https://www.unitn.it/en) School of Medicine in Italy. *April* - April 28, 2024: Dr. Lauren Kennedy-Metz presented our work on “[Dynamic Cognitive Workload Assessment of Cardiac Surgery Teams during CABG](https://www.aats.org/resources/dynamic-cognitive-workload-ass-7347)” at the [104th Annual AATS Meeting](https://events.aats.org/am24) in Toronto, Canada. *February* - February 6-8, 2024: Dr. Rayan Harari presented our work on “[A Novel Multimodal Perspective on Objective Assessment of Non-Technical Skills in Cardiac Surgery](https://www.asc-abstracts.org/abs2024/33-03-a-novel-multimodal-perspective-on-objective-assessment-of-non-technical-skills-in-cardiac-surgery/)” at the [American Surgical Congress 2024](https://www.asc-abstracts.org/) in Washington DC. *January* - January 18-19, 2024: Dr. Marco Zenati was an invited keynote speaker at the “[Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and the Protection of Health as a Fundamental Right](https://www.julia-project.eu/events/artificial-intelligence-healthcare-and-protection-health-fundamental-right)” international workshop, hosted by the [European Community Project JuLIA (Justice, Fundamental Rights and Artificial Intelligence)](https://www.julia-project.eu/events/artificial-intelligence-healthcare-and-protection-health-fundamental-right) at the [University of Trento](https://www.unitn.it/en) in Italy. - January 10, 2024: Welcome Kylie Ford, Research Coordinator, to the MRCAS Lab!