Lavinia Barducci

Lavinia first came to Leeds to do her master thesis, working on the control of magnetic colonoscopy. 

She said: “The seven months I spent completing my thesis in the robotics lab have been really exciting from a research point of view; I’ve found a really involving and fascinating environment and great colleagues. For these reasons, I decided to come back to pursuit my PhD.”

Doing research to save lives

Lavinia explained that she has always wanted to bring her contribution to the field of medical research, and she has always been attracted to the idea of applying her knowledge to the crucial field of medical robotics. 

“I believe that working at the interface between engineering and medical sciences can improve the life quality of people and have a great impact on healthcare,” Lavina said.

I believe that working at the interface between engineering and medical sciences can improve the life quality of people and have a great impact on healthcare.

She also emphasised that once with the rapid advancement of robotics in other fields, promising to revolutionise our everyday life, she is aiming to develop a more effective, easy-to-use and painless alternative to colonoscopy through the use of advanced robotic technology. 

She continued: “This research has the potential to widen access to screening and early diagnosis programmes, thus potentially saving the lives of patients at risk of bowel cancer”.

Lavinia spoke about what carrying out her research involves. She mentioned that she mainly looks at the control of robotic manipulators and systems. 

Lavinia said:

“My research includes the study of the current literature review, the development of innovative solutions, the theoretical analysis of the findings, through a simulative environment as MATLAB, and last their experimental validation on real environment.”

Working with different stakeholders to achieve results

Lavinia mentioned that the highlight of doing her PhD is the opportunity she has to exchange ideas and knowledge with other people in the field and also working in an international environment. 

“Here in Leeds, I found a great team which helps me improve my engineering and my soft skills as a person, not only as a researcher”, Lavinia said.

Here in Leeds, I found a great team which helps me improve my engineering and my soft skills as a person, not only as a researcher.

According to Lavinia, the main quality of a supervisor is being able to encourage their students. She mentioned this is the quality she most appreciates from her supervisor (name), who is helping her pursue her research. She further added that the research community at the University of Leeds is very diverse and friendly.

Lavinia said: “The robotics community in Leeds is very active - they organize very interesting seminars and social events.”

The robotics community in Leeds is very active - they organize very interesting seminars and social events.

In addition, Lavinia also mentioned that her group works with KUKA, which produces the robotic arms employed for magnetic manipulation. 

“At the moment, we’re using the KUKA LBR Med robot, a collaborative robot which is perfectly suited for a wide range of assistance systems in medical technology,” said Lavinia.

Lavinia has been funded by the University of Leeds to pursue her research. When talking about her future plans, she added:

“I don’t have any precise plans for the future at the moment but I’m sure I would like to continue working in the research field either in a company or at the university (academic environment).”