UCF students are engaging in new research and educational programs focused on using artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to improve patient care. Julia Moras, a computer science major who has epilepsy, is exploring how AI could help patients predict seizures as part of her undergraduate honors thesis.
“I am on the receiving end of care for this disease. I want to be part of improving care for all of us who deal with epilepsy,” Moras said.
These opportunities have been developed by Laura Brattain, an associate professor at UCF’s College of Medicine and a member of the Institute of Artificial Intelligence. Brattain, who also holds positions in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, is leading a renewed Introduction to Medical Robotics course that supports a new master’s program in robotics and autonomous systems.
During a recent event, Brattain and her students demonstrated how AI and medical robotics can enhance patient care. The class includes projects where students use AI to program robots capable of identifying anatomical structures in medical images. These robots can distinguish between soft tissue and bone, which could enable remote surgeries directed by surgeons from distant locations.
“My hope is that students come away from this course with not only a solid understanding of how robotics and AI are transforming medicine, but also a sense of creativity and purpose — seeing themselves as future innovators who can bridge engineering and healthcare to improve patient outcomes,” Brattain said.
“With the advances in AI and hardware acceleration, medical robotics is going to be one of the next frontiers in healthcare innovation,” she added.
Graduate student M. Iffat Hossain noted that the course has helped him see collaboration possibilities between engineers and physicians. In another lab project led by Brattain, students are developing handheld ultrasound devices powered by AI for improved accessibility compared to traditional hospital machines. One demonstration involved tracking the median nerve with an AI-enabled wireless probe—technology that could benefit patients with carpal tunnel syndrome through more precise procedures.
Brattain’s research also investigates whether combining AI with ultrasound imaging can help diagnose breast cancer less invasively than current surgical biopsies. She suggested that even reducing surgical biopsies by 20% through these technologies would significantly benefit many women’s quality of life.
Farhan Fuad Abir, a doctoral candidate working on breast cancer research at UCF whose mother survived breast cancer, shared his motivation: “The opportunity to use my skills to create technology to help people like my mother is powerful.”
Daryl Docteur returned to school after working as a nurse because he was interested in technological advancements aimed at improving patient care. Now pursuing his master’s degree in computer science at UCF, he said: “I want to be part of the solution. I want to create technology that serves humankind.”
Engineering and computer science students report that these courses have broadened their perspectives on integrating their skills into healthcare fields while expanding career opportunities across engineering, computing, and medicine.
