Student Presenter(s): Nolberto Jaramillo, Ermin Tale, Denis Malkov
Faculty Mentor: Todd Cohen
Department: Clinical Specialties
School/College: College of Osteopathic Medicine, Long Island

Anatomical retraction of tissue is an important aspect of many surgical procedures including pacemaker implantation. These procedures are often performed by members of the healthcare team, however, due to current healthcare staff shortages, innovative solutions are in high demand. E.R.R.S.E.L.A. (ETIC Research Robot for Student Engagement & Learning Activities) is part of a research and student engagement program created by the NYIT College of Engineering & Computing Sciences and Entrepreneurship & Technology Innovation Center (ETIC). E.R.R.S.E.L.A. was developed to enrich student creativity by allowing students to use custom-designed tools and create custom routines for the robot. The purpose of this project is to alleviate healthcare workers of the tedious task of tissue retraction during pacemaker implantation surgery by using a semi-autonomous robotic retraction system using E.R.R.S.E.L.A. This study aims to assess the ability of E.R.R.S.E.L.A. to move autonomously about a simulated surgical environment and perform simulated surgical retraction for pacemaker implantation surgery through the use of attached linear actuators and retractors. This project is a collaboration between the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine and the College of Engineering & Computing Sciences.