DrAna Cruz Ruiz

Ana is the Project Manager at the Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, where she coordinates center-wide projects across various Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), ranging from basic research to medtech translation initiatives. These projects are funded by organizations such as the Wellcome Trust and EPSRC. In addition to this role, she leads the Hamlyn Centre's Global Surgery working group, which focuses on how frontier technologies—such as AI, robotics, 3D printing, and the Internet of Things (IoT)—can enhance surgical care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In these regions, 9 out of 10 people lack access to basic surgical care, contributing to the global issue where 5 billion people, out of the world's 7.8 billion, are without access to safe, affordable surgical and anesthesia care when needed.

At Imperial, she is also the manager of the Robotics Forum - a network that connects academics pursuing cutting edge research in robotics from across multiple departments and faculties to 1) Foster collaboration and coordination of internal projects, proposals, bids, and grants, 2) Create awareness and act as a single point of contact to facilitate robotics activity at Imperial College, 3) Attract, develop and promote the next generation of roboticists, with a particular focus on under-represented groups.

She previously served as the UK Manager of DIH-HERO, a European Digital Innovation Hub for Healthcare Robotics. DIH-HERO aimed to foster innovation in robotic healthcare products by connecting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with service providers, such as universities, hospitals, business development units, manufacturers, regulators, and policymakers. Launched in 2019 with funding from the Horizon 2020 grant, the hub provided cascade funding over four years to support cross-border partnerships between SMEs and service providers in healthcare robotics. The project concluded after successfully supporting innovation and collaboration in the sector.

Biography:
Ana holds a BSc in Mechatronics from the Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana (2011), a MSc in Advanced Robotics from École Centrale de Nantes (2013), and a PhD in Mechanics from INRIA (French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation) and the École normale supérieure de Rennes (2016).

Her previous research at the Institut de Recherche en Communications et Cybernétique de Nantes - IRCCyN (now Laboratory of Digital Sciences of Nantes) focused on the mechanical design of Cable-Driven Parallel Robots (CDPRs), which resulted in algorithms and software tools to design and assess the performance of CDPRs during in multiple tasks and workspaces. At INRIA she focused on analyzing human motion to design more efficient control strategies for avatars and robots.

She also has experience developing and managing education projects in Europe and in Honduras, with a particular focus on empowering underserved and underrepresented groups in STEM.