ABOUT ME
PhD Student in Medical Robotics
Recent features on UBC Graduate Studies website, UBC Engineering Physics website
I am a PhD Student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, studying medical robotics and imaging with Prof. Tim Salcudean. My research focuses on novel approaches to teleoperation and human computer interaction in these fields, including implementing haptic feedback on surgical robots by developing novel optical and magnetic force sensing techniques and applying control theory. Further, I am developing an exciting new concept of "human teleoperation" (see here). On the side, I am researching hyperspectral fluorescence spectroscopy-guided neurosurgery with researchers at the University Hospital of Münster, Germany.
Additionally, I am an avid skier, paragliding pilot, speed flyer, climber, and trail runner (View some highlights - all photos on this site are of or by me). I am fluent (written and spoken) in English and German, play cello, follow the Bundesliga and Premier League, and love to travel. I am an efficient, motivated, hard worker and fast learner, and work well on teams. Below is a list of my experiences, education, etc.
David Black
Through my background in Engineering Physics coupled with my project work, I have gained a breadth of skills in software, mechanical, and electrical engineering, as well as a strong background in mathematics and physics. This unique skillset is ideal for robotics or medical imaging applications and gives me a diverse knowledge of all aspects of the project so that I can jump in anywhere and communicate between all three disciplines of engineers as well as physicists.
I was featured in this article by UBC Electrical and Computer Engineering, this article by the UBC Institute for Computing, Information, and Cognitive Science, and this article by UBC Engineering Physics
CURRICULUM VITAE
Education
May 2021 - Present
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering (Focus on Medical Robotics and Teleoperation)
September 2016 - April 2021
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering Physics
See courses
Work Experience
April 2021 - April 2022
Co-Founder & Lead Engineer of Snowspines Inc.
May - September 2020
Robotics Engineer Co-op at A&K Robotics
May - December 2019
UBC Robotics and Control Lab Research Student
January 2018-April 2019
Carl Zeiss Meditec AG Advanced Development Internship
September 2011 - April 2017
BC Soccer Referee
April - September 2016
Mountain Equipment Co-op Vancouver Floor Staff
Project Experience
July 2020 - Present
Mixed Reality Telemedicine (UBC Robotics & Control Lab)
September 2021 - December 2021
Optimal Joint Scheduling of eMBB and URLLC Traffic on the 5G NR (UBC EECE 565 Course)
September 2019 - April 2021
Robotic Anthropomorphic PET Phantom (BC Cancer Research Centre)
October 2019 - Present
Fluorescence Guided Neurosurgery Research with the University Hospital of Münster, Germany and Carl Zeiss Meditec AG.
August 2019
Custom Thermal Cycler Design for CellenONE single-cell isolator and dispenser (BC Cancer Research Centre)
July - August 2018
Autonomous Mobile Robot Competition (UBC Engineering Physics Robot Course)
September 2016 - December 2017
UBC Solar Car Vehicle Dynamics Team Lead
Patents
- D. Black, Y. Oloumi, A.H. Hadi Hosseinabadi, S. Salcudean. "Mixed Reality Human Teleoperation," US Patent Office Provisional Patent 63/224,646. July 2021.
- D. Black, J. Voldeng, A. Fraser. "Electronic Stride Assist Mechanism for Ski Touring," US Patent Office Provisional Patent. July 2021.
Publications
A. Walke, D. Black, W. Stummer, S. Kaiser, P. Valdes, E. Suero Molina. "Hyperspectral imaging in malignant glioma: Challenges in, and recommendations for, ex vivo biopsy measurements," in Nature Scientific Reports. Accepted, Fabruary 2023.
D. Black, D. Andjelic, S.E Salcudean. "Evaluation of Communication and Human Response Latency for (Human) Teleoperation," in IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics. Submitted October, 2022. Manuscript ID TMRB-10-22-OA-0581.
D. Black, H. Moradi, S.E Salcudean. "Human-as-a-Robot Performance in Augmented Reality Teleultrasound," in International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery. Submitted February, 2023.
A.H. Hadi Hosseinabadi, D. Black, S.E Salcudean. "Multi-Axis Force Sensing for Laparoscopic Surgery; Design and Calibration," in IEEE Transactions on Mechatronics. Submitted March, 2022.
S.E. Salcudean, H. Moradi, D. Black, N. Navab. "Robot-assisted Medical Imaging: a Review," in Proceedings of the IEEE. Vol 110, No 7. April, 2022.
E. Suero Molina, D. Black, S. Kaneko, M. Muether, W. Stummer. "Double dose of 5-ALA and its effect on PPIX expression in Low-Grade Glioma," in Journal of Neurosurgery. February, 2022.
W. Stummer, S. Kaneko, D. Black, E. Suero Molina. "5-ALA induced porphyrin contents in various brain tumors - Implications regarding imaging device design and their validation," in Neurosurgery. Vol 89, No 6, pp 1132-1140. October, 2021.
D. Black, S. Kaneko, A. Walke, S. Koenig, W. Stummer, E. Suero Molina. "Characterization of Autofluorescence and Quantitative Protoporphyrin IX Biomarkers for Optical Spectroscopy-Guided Glioma Surgery," in Nature: Scientific Reports. Vol. 11, Oct. 8, 2021.
D. Black, Y. Oloumi, A.H. Hadi Hosseinabadi, S. Salcudean. "Human Teleoperation - a Haptically-Enabled Mixed Reality System for Teleultrasound," Human Computer Interaction. Accepted Oct. 2022.
D. Black, Y. Oloumi, J. Wong, R. Fedrigo, C. Uribe, D. Kadrmas, A. Rahmim, I. Klyuzhin. "Design of an Anthropomorphic Respiratory Phantom for PET Imaging," Medical Physics. Vol 48, No 8, pp. 4205-4217. 2021.
E. Suero-Molina, S. Kaneko, P. Sporns, S. Schipmann, D. Black, W. Stummer. "Fluorescence Real-Time Kinetics of Protoporphyrin IX after 5-ALA Administration in Low-Grade Glioma," in Journal of Neurosurgery. Oct. 2020.
A. H. Hadi Hosseinabadi, D. Black and S. Salcudean, "Ultra Low-Noise FPGA-Based 6-Axis Optical Force-Torque Sensor: Hardware and Software," in IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. Vol 68, No 10, pp. 10207 - 10217. 2020. doi: 10.1109/TIE.2020.3021648.
D. Black, A. H. H. Hosseinabadi and S. E. Salcudean, "6-DOF Force Sensing for the Master Tool Manipulator of the da Vinci Surgical System," in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 2264-2271, April 2020, doi: 10.1109/LRA.2020.2970944.
S. Kaneko, E. Suero Molina, C. Ewelt, N. Warneke, W. Stummer. "Fluorescence-Based Measurement of Real-Time Kinetics of Protoporphyrin IX After 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Administration in Human In Situ Malignant Gliomas," in Neurosurgery. 2019;85(4):E739-E746.
Conferences
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D. Black, S. Salcudean. "Towards Differential Magnetic Force Sensing for Ultrasound Teleoperation," in IEEE World Haptics Conference, July 10-13, 2023, Delft, NL. Submitted.
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D. Black, S. Salcudean. "Mixed Reality Human Teleoperation," in IEEE VR, March 25-29, 2023, Shanghai, China. Workshop Presentation & Paper.
D. Black, S. Salcudean. "A Mixed Reality System for Human Teleoperation in Tele-Ultrasound," in the Hamlyn Symposium for Medical Robotics, June 26-29, 2022, London, UK. Podium Presentation.
- Received Best Paper Award
D. Black, S. Kaneko, A. Walke, S. Koenig, W. Stummer, E. Suero Molina. "Characterisation of autofluorescence and quantitative protoporphyrin IX biomarkers for optical spectroscopy-guided glioma surgery," in the German Neurosurgery Society (DGNC) Annual Conference. Köln, Germany. May 29-June 1, 2022. Abstract Presentation.
D. Black, Y. Oloumi, J. Wong, R. Fedrigo, C. Uribe, D. Kadrmas, A. Rahmim, I. Klyuzhin. "Design and Manufacture of Anatomically Realistic, Actuated, Elastic Lung Inserts for PET/CT Phantom Studies with Respiratory Motion," in the American Association of Physicists in Medicine / Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists joint conference 2020. AAPM e-Poster library Poster Number: BReP-SNAP-I-15.
- Accepted as Blue Ribbon ePoster (received very high reviewer scores but we could not give a presentation due to COVID-19)
- See abstract here
- See on conference website
E. Suero Molina, S. Kaneko, P. B. Sporns, S. Schipmann-Miletic, D. Black, W. Stummer. "Fluorescence real-time kinetics of protoporphyrin-IX after 5-ALA administration in low grade glioma," in the American Association of Neurosurgeons Conference. 2020. Presentation
E. Suero Molina, S. Kaneko, P. B. Sporns, S. Schipmann-Miletic, D. Black, W. Stummer. "Fluorescence real-time kinetics of protoporphyrin-IX after 5-ALA administration and factors predicting fluorescence in low-grade glioma," in the Joint Conference of the German Neurosurgery Society (DGNC) and Japanese Neurosurgery Society. 2020.
D. Black, A. H. H. Hosseinabadi and S. E. Salcudean, "6-DOF Force Sensing for the Master Tool Manipulator of the da Vinci Surgical System," in IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, June 2020.
Awards
- Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship
- November 2022
- Ranked third in the nation. Most prestigious award for graduate students in Canada
- Faculty of Applied Science Graduate Award
- President's Academic Excellence Initiative PhD Award
- Best Paper Award, Hamlyn Symposium for Medical Robotics, Imperial College London, UK
- MITACS Accelerate + Rogers Communications Intern
- June 2022 - 2024+
- I wrote much of the grant application and gave presentations to receive this funding and start a collaboration with Rogers.
- President's Academic Excellence PhD Award
- NSERC Canada Graduate Studies - Doctoral (CGS-D) Award
- May 2022 - 2025
- Highest level of the NSERC Post Graduate Studies (PGS-D) awards
- UBC Four Year Fellowship (4YF) for PhD Students
- Faculty of Applied Science Graduate Award
- November 2021
- For academic achievement
- J.K. Zee Fellowship in Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Graduate Support Initiative Award
- Biomedical Imaging and AI (BMIAI) Research Showcase 3-Minute Thesis Competition Winner
- UBC President's Academic Excellence PhD Initiative Award
- NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Studies - Master's Scholarship
- May 2021 - 2022
- Awarded for exceptional academic and research achievement, as well as leadership potential for student in a Master's program or starting the first year of their PhD (as is my case)
- Medical Device Design Centre Innovation Award
- May 2021
- Awarded after presenting my Mixed Reality Teleoperation project to a panel of judges.
- "Honours the student or student team who distinguish themselves as leaders in innovation through the originality of their idea, the alignment of their solution with existing needs, the attention to detail and progress in the development of the technology, and the consideration of economic and social impacts."
- Dorothy and Arthur Holt Scholarship
- 2021
- Awarded to around 9 students in any faculty and/or degree program at UBC for academic excellence
- Trek Excellence Scholarship for Continuing Students
- 2020
- Awarded to students in the top 5% of their faculty and year.
- UBC Engineering Design and Innovation Day Faculty Award
- 2020
- Awarded by faculty choice for the most exceptional and innovative Engineering Physics project showcased at the UBC Applied Science Design and Innovation Day, 2020. Awarded for my robotic PET phantom project.
- Edith Grace Buchan Scholarship
- 2019
- Scholarship for excellence in engineering, as nominated by a faculty member in the Faculty of Applied Science.
- UBC Science Coop International Work Term Award
- 2018
- Awarded for outstanding international work term placement in my first term of coop.
- Trek Excellence Scholarship for Continuing Studies
- 2017
- Awarded to students in the top 5% of their faculty and year.
Supervision, Mentorship, and Teaching
- Taught a ROS tutorial class for my supervisor's graduate-level robotics course (March 2022, January 2023)
- Supervised a group of four fourth year undergraduate students in Engineering Physics for their capstone project in mechanical design (5 months - Fall 2021)
- Supervised a group of six fourth year undergraduate / 1st year masters students for an extensive course project in haptics (4 months - Winter 2022)
- Mentored a masters student from the French air force and Ecole Polytechnique in France for integrating force sensing on an ultrasound probe (3 months - Spring 2022)
- Mentored a third year undergraduate mechanical engineering co-op student for designing a novel force sensor (4 months - Summer 2022)
- Mentoring a fourth year undergraduate computer engineering co-op student for a machine learning project (4 months - Fall 2022)
- Mentoring a fourth year undergraduate integrated engineering WorkLearn student for designing a novel force sensor (8 months - Winter 2022/23)
Reviews
I have provided reviews for:
- May 2021: Paper for the IEEE International Conference on Advanced Robotics and Mechatronics on the topic of visual servoing and haptics in robotic laparoscopy
- December 2021: Paper for Medical Physics about a CT phantom
- March 2022: Paper for IEEE Transactions on Robotics about haptics
- October 2022: Paper for IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters about force sensing in medical robotics
- November 2022: Paper for IPCAI 2023 about surgical robotics
- January 2023: Paper for IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement about surgical robotics
- February 2023: Three papers for the IEEE World Haptics Conference on haptic cues, bimanual teleoperation, and magnetic haptic devices
Misc. Presentations
- Presented at Rogers 5G Research Symposium
- Presented to Coastal First Nations Leadership
- Prompted likely collaboration
- June 2022
- Presented at Biomedical Imaging and AI (BMIAI) Research Showcase
- Won 3-Minute Thesis Competition
- October 2021
- Presented to Prof. Emad Boctor's MUSiiC research group at Johns Hopkins
- Presented to Prof. Nassir Navab's CAMP research group at TU Munich and Johns Hopkins
- Presented at BC Medical Device Design Centre Competition
- Won Innovation Award for my work
- April 2021
Other
Avid backcountry skier, paragliding pilot, rock climber, mountaineer (View some highlights)
Fluent in German and English
Play cello
Computer Skills Confidence:
MATLAB, Python, C#, C++, LaTeX, Linux, ROS, ROSBridge, da Vinci Research Kit, Unity, Microsoft Mixed Reality Toolkit, WebSocket, WebRTC, CAD (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, OnShape), FEA (ANSYS, Solidworks), Microcontrollers (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, STM32), LTSpice
Computer Vision, Reinforcement Learning, Machine Learning, Android Studio, C, PCB Design (Altium, KiCAD), Communication (Networking, SPI, I2C, UART, BLE, TCP/IP, 5G)
Julia, Assembly Language, VHDL
Other Skills:
- Mechanical Design
- Robotics (mechanical design, kinematics, dynamics, controls)
- Control systems, teleoperation
- Physics, mathematical modeling, optimization
- Research, data analysis, report and paper writing, conference posters, abstracts, and presentations
- Project Management
- Prototyping using 3D printers, laser & water-jet cutters, lathes, mills, saws, and drills
- Medical Imaging, nuclear medicine, biophotonics, optics (Physics and Engineering)
- Stepper motors, servos, motor controllers, rotary encoders, IR sensing, analog signals processing, etc.
- Analog and digital circuit design, prototyping, and debugging
