Ph.D.

in Biorobotics

Teaching Activities cyle 38 - a.y. 2022/2023

Years in which mandatory/

Research Area Lecturer Co-Lecturer (if any) Title of the Course Brief description Language Hours ECTS (if any) Semester CV if any Final Check
teaching is held optional

The course will explore computational and physical models that emulate the neural dynamics and the efficiency of biological neurons of peripheral and
central nervous system.
A particular focus will be dedicated to real-time implementation of spiking event-based neuro-robotic artefacts that could be integrated in
Neuro-Robotic Touch neurophysiological studies and in closed loop hybrid-bionic systems to restore missing sensorimotor functions, or for compressing the volume of data
Calogero Maria Oddo - Neuromorphic Computing Eng 20 2 2 1, 3 - yes optional
Laboratory generated by high-density sensor networks.
The hands-on activities will be based on the LabVIEW graphical programming environment, with a selection of topics from Core 1, Core 2, Real-time and
FPGA modules.
Final exam modality: projectual work and discussion.

The main competences developed will be fundamentals and technical abilities of graphical programming for biomedical engineering. The main software
used will be LabVIEW (Core 1 module), with the aim to address the following detailed topics: introduction to graphical programming; navigating the
graphical programming environment; what is graphical programming; project explorer; parts of a Virtual Instrument (VI); front panel; block diagram;
Neuro-Robotic Touch Calogero Maria Oddo - Graphical programming for measurement, test, and control searching for controls, VIs, and functions; selecting a tool; dataflow; building simple VIs; throubleshooting and debugging Vis; implementing a VI; data Eng 20 2 2 2 - yes optional
Laboratory systems in bioengineering types; documenting code; while and for loops; timing a VI and data feedback in loops; plotting data; case structures; developing modular applications;
data structures: arrays and clusters; managing file and hardware resources; introduction to data exchange via UDP; Euler method for discrete fixed-step
solution of differential equations and graphical implementation; hands on examples with graphical programming.
Final exam modality: projectual work and discussion.

The course will be focused on the application of nanomaterials in biomedicine, in particular for drug delivery, crossing of biological barriers, and targeting.
After an introduction to nanotechnology and nanobiotechnology, examples of nanoplatforms for therapy and diagnosis will be illustrated. Special
Smart Bio-Interfaces - IIT Gianni Ciofani - Introduction to bionanomaterials Eng 30 3 2 1, 2, 3 - yes optional
attention will be devoted to “smart” nanoparticles, responsive to physical stimuli, that are realistically leading to the concept of “nanorobots” for
biomedicine. An introduction to nanotoxicology and to basic principle of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics will be approached as well.

Artificial Intelligence for Deep learning algorithms, and in particular convolutional neural networks (CNNs), have revolutionized the field of medical image analysis, rapidly
Medical Image Analysis (AI- Sara Moccia - Deep learning for medical image analysis becoming the elected methodology for the detection, classification, and segmentation of tissues, organs and surgical tools. CNNs have been studied since Eng 30 3 1 1,2,3 - yes optional
MIA) the late seventies, but computational-power and memory-capacity issues have limited the potential of CNNs in the field until the last decade.

Bioelectronics and Silvestro Micera - Scientific writing The goal of this course is to provide information and examples to the students about preparing and submitting scientific papers in the right way. In Eng 10 1 2 1, 2, 3 no optional
Bioengineering Area particular, the students will be asked to work with the teacher on the preparation of a paper to be submitted for high impact journals.

The goal of this course is to provide a general description of the neuroengineering field with a particular attention to the development of implantable
Bioelectronics and
Silvestro Micera - Fundamentals of Neural Engineering solutions to restore sensory motor functions in disabled people. Additional information will be provided on the new field of “bioelectronic medicine” Eng 40 4 2 1,2,3 - yes optional
Bioengineering Area
based on the stimulation of the autonomic nervous system and on the development of computational models to design more effective systems.

The main competences developed will be fundamentals and technical abilities of graphical programming for the development of real-time applications in
biomedical engineering. The main software used will be LabVIEW (RT and FPGA modules), with the aim to address the following detailed topics:
introduction to real-time systems, multithreading, multiple paralle control loops and priority management in ARM controller, timed loops, how to manage
Wearable Robotics Graphical programming for real-time applications in 2: mandatory; 1,
Nicola Vitiello - CPU load, RT FIFO, data saving in real-time applications, fundamentals of FPGA, basic operations in FPGA, how to interface sensors, incremental encoder Eng 30 3 2 - yes optional
Laboratory bioengineering 3: on request.
reading, signals filtering by oversampling/desampling. Students will have the opportunity to acquire familiarity with the acquired knowledge by several
hands-on training sessions.
Final exam modality: projectual work and discussion.

This course will be aimed at introducing PhD students to fundamental design challenges and perspectives of wearable robots. During the course examples
Wearable Robotics
Nicola Vitiello - Fundamentals of wearable robotics of powered lower-limb prostheses, upper- and lower-limb powered exoskeletons will be analysed. Students will have the opportunity to take parts to Eng 20 2 - 1,3 - yes optional
Laboratory
hands-on training sessions with real exoskeletons. Programming language: Labview RT, FPGA. Exam: projectual work and discussion.

The course focuses on two powerful tools from computational neuroscience that neural engineers can apply to the analysis of biological data
and to the modeling of neural stimulation therapies. The first tool is information theory, a general approach to find and quantify relationships
Computational between arbitrary sets of variables. The first part of the course will start with the mathematical foundations of the theory and end with
Neuroengineering Alberto Mazzoni - Information theory and neural modelling for neural engineering applications in the field of neuroscience and beyond. The second tool is neural modeling. The second part of the course will then introduce Eng 20 2 1 1,2,3 - yes optional
Laboratory the main neuronal models with different level of detail and the main network architectures, and will finally present and discuss several
examples of computational neuroengineering. Hands-on lessons will include computation of information analysis with a dedicated Matlab
toolbox and design and characterization of integrate and fire models.

Sensor Signals and The course aims at providing an introduction to principles of experimental design, elements of theory of probability, descriptive and inferential statistics,
Information Processing Angelo Maria Sabatini - Introduction to statistics and data analysis including techniques to perform linear regressions and analyses of variance. Examples of how statistical analyses can be performed will be given in SPSS Eng 40 4 1 1,2,3 - yes optional
Area and R.
 The goal of this course is getting to know microrobotics as a prototypical example of biorobotics, or, in other words, exploiting microrobotics as a sandbox
Microscale Robotics to widen and improve the students' skills in biorobotics research.
Stefano Palagi - Microscale Robotics: from bioinspiration to medicine Eng 20 2 1 1,2,3 - yes optional
Laboratory

The course will be focused on methodologies and guidelines related to robotic technologies for minimally invasive therapy, diagnosis and surgery.
Lectures will introduce different solutions for targeted therapies both minimally invasive and no invasive, e.g. which exploit external generators of
therapeutic actions. At the end of the course the student will be able to identify the most appropriated targeting/therapeutic solutions for the different
human body districts, at different scales, and for different pathologies. Final exam: presentation of a topic/paper. All students are invited to prepare the
Surgical Robotics and Allied Arianna Menciassi - Fundamentals of Surgical and Interventional Robotics exam in the same day for organizing a sort of workshop open to other interestied researchers. Eng 10 1 2 1,2,3 - yes optional
Technologies Area Competence to be acquired along the course:
• the design principles behind robotic technology for MIS;
• different technologies and paradigms for autonomous, teleoperated, hand held robots for minimally invasive surgery;
• actuation technologies for robotic tools for minimally invasive surgery.

The course aims at providing key methodologies for needs-based engineering design. Specific focus is on open-ended desgin challenges, in which the
problem statement is expressed in a concise and general form, and much effort has to be devoted to the understanding of the challenge, to derive clear
requirements and develop viable and effective design alternatives. Course delivery consist of lectures and projectual team work. The course follows the
approach proposed by the d-school at Stanford University. Key topics are:
- creative confidence
Creative Engineering Design
Cesare Stefanini - Creative Engineering Design - three phases in needs-based design (inspiration, ideation, implementation) Eng 20 2 2 1,2,3 - yes optional
Area
- sources of inspiration
- brainstorming rules
- selecting viable design alternatives
- prototyping for design, typologies
- fields of application

The course, organized in two modules, intends to provide an introduction to motor control starting from neurophysiological principles, up to their
application for robotic control. The first module focuses on the neuroscientific basis of motor control: mechanisms of perception-action, mechanisms of
Microscale Robotics action selection, learning, generation of internal models and the role of the cerebellum, the role of the basal ganglia. This module will conclude with the
Egidio Falotico - Brain-inpired motor control Eng 20 2 2 1,2,3 - yes optional
Laboratory presentation of eye movement control models. The second module intends to provide an introduction to artificial neural networks and neurocontrollers
that exploit the neuroscientific principles presented in the first part of the course. The course includes hands-on sessions that will allow to implement
neurocontrollers on robots in a simulated environment.

Topics: 1) introduction to electronic and digital communication interfaces; 2) introduction to IoT systems: definitions, applications, enabling technologies;
Computer-Integrated
3) tools for local and over-the-air (OTA) firmware programming; 4) key-functions for cloud programming; and 5) examples and exercises. Final exam:
Technology for Robotic Gastone Ciuti Marcello Chiurazzi Fundamentals of IoT platforms Eng 30 3 1 1,2,3 - yes optional
implementation of an IoT-based application. All students are invited to prepare and discuss the exam in the same day for organizing a sort of workshop
Surgery Laboratory
open to other interestied researchers.

The course aims at deepening the knowledge and the use of soft/compliant/flexible materials for the realization of actuation systems. It will provide
Soft Mechatronics for
Matteo Cianchetti - Innovative actuation technologies advanced knowledge on various technologies, from basic principles to their exploitation in specific engineering problems. In addition, through laboratory Eng 20 2 1 1,2,3 - yes optional
BioRobotics Laboratory
sessions, students will acquire the manual use of some laboratory tools and materials.

Educational goals: The course will provide basic elements of molecular biology: the fundamental processes of DNA replication, transcription and
translation, with particular reference to eukaryotes and comparative hints to prokaryotes. Molecular signal pathways and cell-cell communication,
- Debora Angeloni - Introduction to molecular biology elements of molecular mechanobiology (mechanosensing and mechanotransduction), and post-genomic molecular biology will be introduced. The main Eng 10 1 2 1,2,3 - yes optional
investigation methods will be described. Expected learning outcomes: Basic knowledge of molecular biology and the main methods of biomolecular
investigation.

The course provides a basic, practical knowledge of computational mechanics of solids (linear/non-linear elasticity) and fluids (incompressible flows of
Teaching included in the
Newtonian fluids). It introduces the theory of the Finite Element Method, numerical algorithms and approaches for the solution of non-linear and time-
teaching planning of the Alessandro Lucantonio - Modeling of Multi-Physics Phenomena Eng 30 3 2 1,2,3 yes -
dependent problems, which are common to all the aforementioned computational disciplines. Numerical implementations of several physical models in a
Msc in Bionics Engineering
commercial FE software will be shown during hands-on sessions, along with applications to design problems involving sensors and bioinspired devices.

Antonio De Simone - Control Principles for Soft and Bioinspired Robotics - Eng 30 3 - - - yes optional

Teaching included in the

Antonio De Simone - Mechanics of smart materials and structures (training mudule of - eng 60 6 1 - - yes -
teaching planning of the
the course "Mechanics of smart materials and structure".
Msc in Bionics Engineering

The course covers all modern aspects of Open Science and provides the tools and standards required to embed Open Science in research workflows. After
a brief overview of the foundations of key IP rights, data protection principles and non-personal data regimes, it focuses on the concept and application of
Open Science in Horizon Europe, the ongoing reform of the research assessment system in the EU, meaning and practice of open access publishing and
Teaching included in the Francesca di Donato -
data FAIRification. Specific attention will be devoted to research data management, Data Management Plans, the use of existing Research Infrastructure
teaching planning of the Caterina Sganga - Denise - Open Science e Data Management eng 12 1 - 1 yes optional
(RI) to disseminate research data and other outputs, and the definition and implementation of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).
Ph.D. in Human Rights Amram
The course is structured around six sessions, as detailed below. Suggested readings will be posted on a dedicated Teams channel along with the slides.
Additional readings and materials may be suggested during class or upon request.

This course will focus on practical and hands-on activities related to microfabrication and characterization of biomaterials. A few hours will be dedicated
to some theoretical bases on fabrication technologies and characterization principles. Then, students will be trained through practical clean room
Regenerative Technologies Leonardo Ricotti Lorenzo Vannozzi Soft lithography and biomaterials characterization Eng 20 2 2 1,2,3 yes optional
activities, such as micro-lithography, replica molding and SEM imaging. Biomaterials characterization techniques (e.g., DSC) will be also addressed. The
Laboratory
students interested in attending this course need to follow in advance and complete the safety courses delivered by Scuola Sant'Anna (the general one
and the one specific for accessing the clean room and the chemical Lab), before the course starts.
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