The "Perk Labs"- Laboratories for Percutaneous Surgical Interventions

A large and growing family of medical interventions involves the placement of some linear surgical instruments. Typical examples include needle based aspirations, injections, local ablation therapies, brachytherapy, but "virtual needles" like high energy X-ray and laser beams are also commonly applied. The majority of these interventions today are performed percutaneously (i.e., across the skin). Recently, a rapidly growing variety of these procedures have also deployed through alternative access routes from within body cavities (rectum, sinus, throat), as well as the vascular and gastro-intestinal systems. Typical guidance methods are computed tomography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and fluoroscopy. Our lab focuses on development of enabling technology for image guided percutaneous procedures and the translation of these to clinical trials.
Research subjects are of interdisciplinary nature, spanning across computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and clinical sciences, primarily radiology, radiation oncology and surgery. Students and postdocs are routinely co-advised by multiple affiliated faculty members. Our research program leverages an extensive network of clinical and engineering collaborators worldwide funded by a diverse portfolio of U.S., Canadian grants and sponsored research contracts, as well as by our host institutions.
The Perk Labs are housed in twin facilities located at the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore) and Queen's University (Kingston, Canada), directed by Prof. Gabor Fichtinger.

(Source: ERC List)