Manuela Eugster studied Mechanical Engineering specialized in Robotics, Systems and Control at ETH, Zurich. During her master thesis she developed automation solutions for manufacturing processes in collaboration with TRUMPF Maschinen AG. She carried out her PhD thesis at the Bio-Inspired Robots for Medicine-Lab (BIROMED-Lab), Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Basel. She focused on the development of a robotic system for bone-cutting using laser light to allow less invasive knee arthroplasty. This included the requirement analysis for the system such as the evaluation of available working space inside the knee joint for a robotic device, as well as the conceptual design, development, and evaluation of a miniature robot, which allows precise positioning of a laser beam in a minimally invasive setting.
As a postdoctoral researcher at the BIROMED-Lab Manuela Eugster was project management lead of an Innosuisse project where this technology is now applied to dentistry together with clinical and industrial partners. She was also working for several months in industry as a visiting scientist (Reha-Stim Medtec, Berlin, Germany) and as a visiting researcher at the Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC, Florida, USA).
Manuela Eugster is now joining the ARTORG Center, University of Bern and the Department of Neurosurgery, Inselspital, as Assistant Professor with tenure track in Robotics and Micromechatronics. Her research interests include developing smart tools for neurosurgery, where the term "smart" refers to sensing, actuation, and control concepts that improve safety and precision and decrease invasiveness of neurosurgical interventions.
She is looking forward to closely collaborating with clinicians and researchers in Bern to identify and address unmet clinical needs and improve medical care by providing physicians with better instruments and co-develop novel medical procedures.
