2018-2023: B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah; Salt Lake City, UT.
Research Interests
Medical Robotics
Haptics
Computer Vision and AI
Journal Publications
Sperry, A. J., Schwehr, T. J., Pinegar, E. K., Richards, O. B., Rolston, J. D., Alexander, M. D., ... & Kuntz, A. (2023). Screw-tip Soft Magnetically Steerable Needles. IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics.
Conference Publications
Richards, O., Ahronovich, E., Joos, K., & Simaan, N. (2024). Robot-Informed Rapid Segmentation of Optical Coherence Tomography Images for Collaborative Ophthalmic Surgery [Paper: Under Review]. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Richards, O., Ahronovich, E., Shihora, N., Yildiz, A., Atoum, J., Wu, J. W., Obstein, K. L., & Simaan, N. (2024). A Robotic Mediation Device for Skill Assessment and Training During Colonoscopy. IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robotics and Systems, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Abstracts
Richards, O., Ahronovich, E., Joos, K., & Simaan, N. (2024). Robot-Assisted Image Segmentation for OCT. Southeastern Vision Research Conference, Nov. 11-12th, 2024, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Richards, O., Ahronovich, E., Shihora, N., Yildiz, A., Atoum, J., Wu, J. W., Obstein, K. L., & Simaan, N. (2024). A Novel Robotic Platform for Objective Technical Skill Assessment in Colonoscopy. American College of Gastroenterology Annual Meeting, Oct. 26-28th, 2024, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Irwin, P., Bollwinkel, E., Richards, O., Monteiro, A., Smith, B., Ashby, M., Brignone, J., Battaglia, E. (2023) Wearable Haptics for Proprioception of Shoulder Movement. IEEE World Haptics Conference, Jul. 10-13th, 2023, Delft, Netherlands.
Experience
May 2023 - July 2023: Associate Electromechanical Engineer - Northrop Grumman, Salt Lake City, UT
Jan. 2022 - May 2023: Automation Engineering Intern - Northrop Grumman, Salt Lake City, UT
May 2021 - Jan. 2022: Technical Intern - Northrop Grumman, Roy, UT
Awards
Outstanding Poster Presenter - American College of Gastroenterology National Meeting Poster Committee. Oct. 2024
David Jorgensen Scholarship - College of Engineering, University of Utah. Aug. 2018 - May 2023
Good Engineering Award - Mission Systems Intellectual Property Committee, Northrop Grumman. May 2023
Good Engineering Award - Mission Systems Intellectual Property Committee, Northrop Grumman. Sep. 2022
Global Summit Design Competition, 2nd place - Space Sector, Northrop Grumman. Aug. 2021
2014 - 2018: B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA
Research Interests
Steerable Catheter Design, Modeling, and Control
Sensing Modalities for Endovascular Procedures
Mechanics Modeling of Flexible Rods
Medical Image Segmentation and Image-Guided Control
Experience
June 2018 - July 2020: Mechanical Engineer, Neocis Inc, Miami, FL
May 2017 - May 2018: Intern, Medtronic, North Haven, CT
May 2016 - May 2017: Intern, Medtronic, Boston, MA
Publications
N. Shihora, J. Lawson, P. Moubarak, M. Reese, L. Wang and N. Simaan, "On the Use of Tension Transition Zones for Kinematic and Compliance Performance Analysis of Wire-actuated Continuum Robots," 2024 Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics (JMR) (Accepted)
C. Abah, J. Lawson, R. Chitale and N. Simaan, "Self-steering Catheters for Neuroendovascular Interventions," 2024 Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics (TMRB) (Accepted)
J. Lawson, M. Veliky, C. Abah, M. Dietrich, R. Chitale and N. Simaan, "Endovascular Detection of Catheter-Thrombus Contact by Vacuum Excitation," 2024 Transactions on Biomedical Engineering (TBME)
J. Lawson, R. Chitale and N. Simaan, "Model-based Pose Estimation of Steerable Catheters under Bi-Plane Image Feedback," 2023 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), London, UK, 2023
