Deepak Raina

I am an Assistant Professor at the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi, which is located in scenic mountains of Himachal Pradesh, India. My research is centered around Robotics, Computer Vision, and Deep Learning, with a focus on their applications in healthcare.

Previously, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins Malone Center for Engineering in Healthcare with Prof. Axel Krieger and Prof. Muyinatu Bell. In my postdoctoral, I developed advanced robotic manipulation and imaging guidance methods for ultrasound-guided surgical interventions. I obtained Ph.D. in 2024 from IIT Delhi advised by Prof. Subir K. Saha and Prof. Richard Voyles, with a significant portion of my research conducted at Purdue University as a visiting student. My doctoral research focused on autonomous robotic ultrasound system for diagnostic imaging, specifically focusing on imitation learning for robot manipulation and deep learning for medical imaging analysis. Notably, the telerobotic ultrasound system was developed, with which 21 human trials were conducted at AIIMS, Delhi. Prior to joining Ph.D., I was a researcher at TCS Robotics Research and Innovation Lab (Delhi), developing robotic solutions for warehouse tasks (palletizing, truck loading, etc.), one of which was patented and considered for commercial launch. I obtained my M.Tech at IIT Jodhpur in 2017, advised by Prof. Suril V. Shah, where my research focused on space robotics for satellite servicing and capturing debris.

I was awarded three prestigious fellowships: the Prime Minister's Research Fellowship (PMRF) at IIT Delhi, SERB-Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship (OVDF) at Purdue University, and Malone Postdoctoral Fellowship (MPDF) at Johns Hopkins. My work has been published in top-tier conferences such as ICRA, CASE, ISMR, and ROMAN, as well as renowned IEEE Transactions, including TMRB and TUFFC.

Beyond research, I enjoy staying active through badminton, strength training, yoga, and hiking. Staying active and connected with nature keeps me energized and ready for research challenges.

Have a look at my CV for more details.

Experience

Education

Research

To unlock the full potential of robotics in complex medical procedures, my research focuses on advancing methods in medical imaging guidance and robotic manipulation that will allow robots to learn by observing clinical experts. This simplifies the learning process and eventually lets these robots perceive and operate like clinical experts in diagnostics and surgical interventions.

My ongoing research is centered around the following themes:

1. Visuomotor skill learning through observation: Clinical experts synthesize feedback from the medical image and combine it with their knowledge of the anatomical structure(s) to execute continuous corrections to surgical tools. Inspired by this process, I aim to develop an end-to-end model that directly maps these tooling motions to the imaging perception space, thereby eliminating the need for analytically engineered procedure.


2. Coaching through multi-modal feedback: Expert instruction often includes multi-modal cues such as visual, kinesthetic, and verbal. My research aims to build a non-linear multi-modal mapping that can interpret and translate such cues into actionable guidance for robots, enabling them to learn from expert feedback in real time (i.e. coaching).


3. Imaging guidance for medical robots: I am developing deep learning models capable of holistic interpretation of medical imaging to extract low-dimensional, meaningful feedback. This feedback is designed to integrate seamlessly with robot learning frameworks, enhancing their ability to make informed decisions during procedures.


4. High-fidelity data collection: A foundational element of my research is the collection of high-quality data from clinical experts. I am enhancing data acquisition interfaces by developing advanced teleoperation architectures, leveraging augmented/virtual reality and haptic feedback, to facilitate seamless expert interaction with robots. Additionally, I am working on the development of high-fidelity phantoms to provide realistic, repeatable scenarios for training and evaluation.

Publications

Journals

1. Coaching a Robotic Sonographer: Learning Robotic Ultrasound With Sparse Expert's Feedback,
   Deepak Raina, Mythra V. Balakuntala, Byung Wook Kim, Juan Wachs, Richard Voyles
   IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics
   PDF
2. Deep Learning Model for Quality Assessment of Urinary Bladder Ultrasound Images using Multi-scale and Higher-order Processing,
   Deepak Raina, SH Chandrashekhara, Richard Voyles, Juan Wachs, Subir Kumar Saha
   IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control
   PDF
3. Tele-robotic ultrasound: an initial feasibility study,
   SH Chandrashekhara, Krithika Rangarajan, Ayushi Agrawal, Sanjay Thulkar, S. Gamanagatti, Deepak Raina, S.K. Saha and Chetan Arora,
   World Journal of Methodology 2022
   PDF
4. Impact Modeling and Reactionless Control for post-capturing and manoeuvring of orbiting objects using a Multi-arm space robot,
   Deepak Raina, Sunil Gora, Dheeraj Maheshwari, Suril V. Shah,
   Acta Astronautica 2021
   PDF
5. Design and Development for Roll Cage of All-Terrain Vehicle,
   Deepak Raina, Rahul Dev Gupta, Rakesh Kumar Phanden,
   International Journal for Technological Research in Engineering (IJTRE) 2015
   PDF Video

Conferences

1. UltraGelBot: Autonomous Gel Dispenser for Robotic Ultrasound,
   Deepak Raina, Ziming Zhao, Richard Voyles, Juan Wachs, Subir Kumar Saha, SH Chandrashekhara
   Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics (HSMR) 2024.
   PDF
2. RUSOpt: Robotic UltraSound Probe Normalization using Bayesian Optimization for in-plane and out-plane scanning,
   Deepak Raina, Abhishek Mathur, Richard Voyles, Juan Wachs, SH Chandrashekhara, Subir Kumar Saha
   IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE) 2023.
   PDF
3. Robotic Sonographer: Autonomous Robotic Ultrasound using Domain Expertise in Bayesian Optimization,
   Deepak Raina, SH Chandrashekhara, Richard Voyles, Juan Wachs, Subir Kumar Saha
   IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2023.
   PDF
4. Deep Kernel and Image Quality Estimators for Optimizing Robotic Ultrasound Controller using Bayesian Optimization,
   Deepak Raina, SH Chandrashekhara, Richard Voyles, Juan Wachs, Subir Kumar Saha
   IEEE International Symposium on Medical Robotics (ISMR) 2023.
   PDF
5. Expert-Agnostic Ultrasound Image Quality Assessment using Deep Variational Clustering ,
   Deepak Raina, Dimitrios Ntentia, SH Chandrashekhara, Richard Voyles, Subir Kumar Saha
   IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2023.
   PDF
6. Learning Robotic Ultrasoud through Coaching,
   Mythra V. Balakuntala, Deepak Raina, Juan Wachs, Richard Voyles
   Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics (HSMR) 2023.
   PDF
7. Slim U-Net: Efficient Anatomical Feature Preserving U-net Architecture for Ultrasound Image Segmentation,
   Deepak Raina, Kashish Verma, Chandrashekhara SH, Subir Kumar Saha
   ACM International Conference on Biomedical and Bioinformatics Engineering (ICBBE) 2022
   PDF
8. Comprehensive Telerobotic Ultrasound System for Abdominal Imaging: Development and in-vivo Feasibility Study,
   Deepak Raina, Hardeep Singh, Subir Kumar Saha, Chetan Arora, Ayushi Agarwal, Chandrashekhara Sh, Krithika Rangarajan, Suvayan Nandi
   IEEE International Symposium on Medical Robotics (ISMR) 2021.
   PDF Video
9. AI-based Modeling and Control of Robotic Systems: A Brief Tutorial,
   Deepak Raina, Subir Kumar Saha
   International Conference on Robotics and Computer Vision (ICRCV) 2021.
   PDF Video
10. A Novel Image-based Path Planning Algorithm for Eye-in-Hand Visual Servoing of a Redundant Manipulator in a Human Centered Environment,
    Deepak Raina, P. Mithun, Suril V. Shah, Swagat Kumar,
    IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (Ro-Man), 2019
    PDF Video
11. Impact Modeling and Estimation for Multi-Arm Space Robot while Capturing Tumbling Orbiting Objects,
    Deepak Raina, Suril V. Shah,
    Advances in Robotics (AIR) 2017
    PDF

Abstracts

1. Autonomous robotic ultrasound with deep learning: predicting internal anatomy from external body features using computer vision and body models,
   Lidia Al-Zogbi, Brian Teixeira, Deepak Raina, Vivek Singh, Ankur Kapoor, Axel Krieger, Thorsten Fleiter
   n European Congress of Radiology (ECR), 2025 Link
2. Autonomous robotic ultrasound-guided central venous catheter placement,
   Deepak Raina, Lidia Al-Zogbi, Brian Teixeira, Vivek Singh, Ankur Kapoor, Thorsten Fleiter, Muyinatu Bell, Vinciya Pandian, Axel Krieger,
   Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery (CARS), 2025 Link
3. Local and global feature fusion for ultrasound image quality assessment: Towards autonomous robotic ultrasound,
   Deepak Raina, Mythra V. Balakuntala, Richard Voyles, Subir Kumar Saha,
   Workshop on Human-centered Autonomy in Medical Robotics,
   International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2022. Link
4. Telerobotic Ultrasound: Towards safer, precise and remote diagnosis of COVID-19 patients,
   Deepak Raina, Suvayan Nandi, Subir Kumar Saha, Chetan Arora, Dr. Krithika Rangarajan and Dr. Chandrashekhara Sh,
   Workshop on Autonomous System in Medicine,
   International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) 2020. Link
5. Chitrakar: Robotic System for Drawing Jordan Curve of Facial Portrait,
   Aniruddha Singhal, Ayush Kumar, Shivam Thukral, Deepak Raina, Swagat Kumar,
   Workshop on Creativity and Robotics,
   International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR), 2020. Link
   PDF Video
6. Reactionless control and target manoeuvring of orbiting object in post-capture phase using a multi-arm space robot,
   Deepak Raina, Sunil Gora, Suril V. Shah,
   Workshop on Space Robotics,
   International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2020. Link

Book Chapters

1. Modeling and Estimation of Closed-Loop Impact for Multi-arm Space Robot While Capturing a Tumbling Orbiting Object,
   Deepak Raina, Sunil Gora, Suril V. Shah,
   Machines, Mechanism and Robotics. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering, Springer, Singapore, 2019,
   PDF

Patents

1. Modular Robotic Ultrasound Probe Gripper with Autonomous Gel Dispenser,
   Deepak Raina, Ziming Zhao, Richard Voyles, Juan Wachs, Subir Kumar Saha, SH Chadrashekhara
   US App. No. 63/620,115; Submitted on Jan. 11, 2024
2. System and method for autonomous multi-bin parcel loading system,
   Aniruddha Singhal, Harshad Kahdilkar, Venkat Raju, Deepak Raina, Venkatesh S. Prasad, Shivam Thukral, Rajesh Sinha,
   IN Patent No. 527907, App No. 202021005053; Filed: Feb 05, 2020, Granted: Mar 15, 2024
   US Patent No. US2021/0253376A1, Filed: Feb 04, 2021, Published: Aug 19, 2021
   EP Patent No. 3862939A1, Filed: Feb 04, 2021, Published: Aug 11, 2021

Theses

• Robotic Sonographer: Robot Learning Ultrasound Procedure Skills from Domain Expertise
  Supervisor: Prof. Subir K. Saha
  Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Delhi
• Impact Modeling and Estimation for Multi-Arm Space Robot while Capturing Tumbling Orbiting Objects
  Supervisor: Prof. Suril V. Shah
  Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Jodhpur

News

• IIT Delhi, AIIMS New Delhi and Addverb Co-develop Telerobotic Ultrasound System During COVID Times
  Times of India, The Indian Express, IIT Delhi, News18, The Hindu, Dainik Jagran
  Live TV shows: NewsX, India Science
• Chitrakar: A system that can transform images of human faces into drawings
  TechXplore, AtomsTalk

Honors & Awards

• Malone Postdoctoral Fellowship (2024)
  Among 2 students to be selected across the globe for a Malone postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University.
• PMRF Academic Excellence Award (2023)
  Acknowledged for exceptional performance among all PMRF fellows and invited to present my research at the annual PMRF convention.
• IEEE RAS Travel Award (2023)
  Awarded for supporting my travel to ICRA 2023 in London, UK
• Purdue University Dean’s Travel Award (2023)
  Awarded for supporting my travel to ISMR 2023 in Georgia, USA
• DST - AWSAR 2022 Award (2022)
  Awarded to my doctoral research story, distinguished as nation’s top 100 scientific research stories.
• SERB - Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship (2022)
  Among 25 Ph.D. students to be selected across country to spend one year at Purdue University, USA. This fellowship is awarded by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) of India.
• International Robot Design Competition Award (2021)
  Runner-up award to our Telerobotic Ultrasound system at ICSR 2021 Robot Design Competition for the COVID-19 innovative response.
• Director's Honorarium (2021)
  Honored by Director of IIT Delhi for my efforts in establishing the Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) on Collaborative robotics (Cobotics).
• Prime Minister's Research Fellowship (2019)
  Among 10 students to be selected across the country in Mechanical Engineering, awarded by the Ministry of Education (MoE) to exceptional doctoral candidates in the country.
• Dassault Systèmes Design Award (2014)
  Awarded 2^nd prize in design of Human-Powered Vehicle Challenge (HPVC) organized by ASME at IIT Delhi.
• Indira Gandhi Merit Scholarship (2011)
  Secured 7^th rank in 12^th state board exams. This Scholarship is awarded by Director of Higher Education to top 10 students.
• Letter of Appreciation (2011)
  Awarded by Union Minister of India Mr. Anurag Thakur for excellent performance in 12^th state board exams

Lab website

Coming soon

Contact

I can be reached best via email deepakraina@iitmandi.ac.in or draina.research@gmail.com. I am happy to hear from you!

Prospective Students: I am currently looking for Interns/Bachelors/Masters/PhD students. If you have some exposure to robotics, computer vision and deep learning, please reach out via email with your CV/Resume and brief description of how working with me aligns with your long term professional goals. Research conducted by my past mentees has been published in top robotics conferences (ICRA, CASE). All of the students I mentored joined top graduate programs such as PhD at Cornell, MS at Carnegie Mellon, and MS at Columbia University. Feel free to connect with my former mentees, their details can be found in my CV.