Robert Webster

Mias Pretorius, MBChB, MSCI, chief of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), models one of the face shields he and his family assembled to provide back-up personal protective equipment (PPE).
April 2, 2020

Physicians, engineering students, families and friends construct DIY face shields

As the number of COVID-19 infections continues to grow, Nashville resident Kobie Pretorius was searching for some way to provide meaningful help to others. And she realized her apprehension was spiking each morning as her husband went out the door for work.

By Jill Clendening
April 1, 2020

VU engineers, VUMC doctors team for open-source ventilator design

As COVID-19 continues to push unprecedented challenges on medical communities, one of the most pressing threats for hospital staff across the country is a dwindling supply of ventilators.

By VUMC News and Communications
April 11, 2019

VISE team seeks to develop new robot to ease prostatectomies

The Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering (VISE) team of Robert Webster III, PhD, and Duke Herrell, MD, have received a $2.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a new surgical robot for endoscopic transurethral prostatectomy.

By Michelle Bukowski
October 26, 2017

Team to develop steerable robotic needle for biopsies

Collaboration between a mechanical engineer at Vanderbilt University and a pulmonologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has resulted in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grant that will be used to develop a steerable robotic needle to safely biopsy hard-to-reach lung nodules.

By Kathy Whitney
October 12, 2017

Team developing imaging upgrade for robotic surgery

Removing part of a kidney with minimally invasive robotic surgery rather than an entire kidney when operating for smaller tumors is often best for patients from a recovery and health standpoint, but many surgeons hesitate to do so because of the complexity of the robotic partial nephrectomy procedure.

By Jill Clendening
researcher and helmet
June 20, 2017

How six cups of ground coffee can improve nose, throat surgery

Vanderbilt engineers have designed a “granular jamming cap” filled with coffee grounds that can improve the accuracy of the sophisticated “GPS” system that surgeons use for nose and throat surgery.

By VUMC News and Communications
July 23, 2015

Tiny mechanical wrist gives new dexterity to needlescopic surgery

VIDEO» A Vanderbilt research team has successfully created a mechanical wrist less than 1/16th of an inch thick -- small enough to use in needlescopic surgery, the smallest form of minimally invasive surgery.
By VUMC News and Communications
October 15, 2014

Brain surgery through the cheek

Vanderbilt engineers have developed a surgical robot designed to perform brain surgery by entering through the cheek instead of the skull.
By VUMC News and Communications
September 11, 2013

Vanderbilt Medicine: Robotics revolution

In the foreseeable future, robots will be sticking steerable needles in your brain to remove blood clots; capsule robots will be crawling up your colon as a painless replacement for the colonoscopy; and ultra-miniaturized snake robots will remove tumors from your bladder and other body cavities.
By VUMC News and Communications