Dr. Alfredo Illanes
Short Bio
I am a senior researcher in the Virtual and Augmented Reality Group at the Research Campus STIMULATE, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg. I received my degree in Electronic Engineering from Universidad Federico Santa María in Chile, a Master’s degree in Digital Signal Processing from Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, and a PhD in Biosignal Processing and Modeling from INRIA Rennes in France.
Before joining the VAR group, I worked as an assistant professor in Chile, where I was responsible for teaching in digital signal processing, advanced signal processing, machine learning, and dynamical modeling. My research at that time focused on signal and image processing for vibratory and biomedical processes. I later co-founded two technology startups in France, Chile, and Germany, developing applied solutions in computer vision and vibroacoustic medical guidance.
My current work concentrates on vibroacoustic sensing and signal processing for minimally invasive surgery, with a focus on tool–tissue interaction monitoring, surgical digitalization, and data-driven methods based on vibratory and acoustic information.
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Research Interests
My research focuses on advanced signal and image processing methods for medical applications. Current topics include:
- Vibroacoustic monitoring of tool–tissue interactions in minimally invasive procedures
- Digitalization of surgical workflows using vibratory and acoustic sensing
- Time-frequency analysis, parametrical modeling, and machine learning for biomedical and vibratory processes
- Audio data mining and acoustic characterization for medical decision support
Publications
2026
Ex Vivo Differentiation of Cartilage Degeneration Severity and Subchondral Bone Using Vibroacoustic Signals from Instrument–Tissue Interaction Journal Article
In: Sensors, vol. 26, no. 15, pp. 4874, 2026, ISSN: 1424-8220, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42590649/).

When Tissue Speaks: Vibroacoustic Monitoring of Tissue Response during Electrosurgery Proceedings Article Forthcoming
In: Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI), Forthcoming.

Where Is the Needle Tip? Vibroacoustic Sensing Reveals Hidden Needle-Tissue Transitions During Ultrasound Guidance Proceedings Article Forthcoming
In: Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI), Forthcoming.

Ex Vivo Tissue Differentiation Using Vibroacoustic Sensing at the Proximal End of Laparoscopic Instruments Proceedings Article Forthcoming
In: IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), Forthcoming.

Feasibility of Vibroacoustic Sensing for Detection of Peritoneal Entry During Laparoscopic Access: A Pilot Study in a Human Body Donor Journal Article
In: Diagnostics, vol. 16, no. 12, pp. 1780, 2026, ISSN: 2075-4418, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42351438/).
2025

Needle Puncture Detection Using Vibroacoustic Sensing in Layered Phantoms Journal Article
In: Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 11, iss. 2, pp. 112-115, 2025.
Perpendicular Vascular Changes in NBI-CE of Laryngeal Lesions: Diagnostic Accuracy, Reproducibility, and Common Pitfalls Journal Article
In: Diagnostics, vol. 15, no. 23, pp. 3051, 2025, ISSN: 2075-4418, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41374432/).

Exploring Deep Clustering Methods in Vibro-Acoustic Sensing for Enhancing Biological Tissue Characterization Journal Article
In: IEEE Access, vol. 13, pp. 80395–80406, 2025, ISSN: 2169-3536.
2024
Enhancing Veress Needle Entry with Proximal Vibroacoustic Sensing for Automatic Identification of Peritoneum Puncture Journal Article
In: Diagnostics, vol. 14, no. 15, pp. 1698, 2024, ISSN: 2075-4418, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39125574/).

Variational Autoencoder feature clustering for tissue classification in robotic palpation Journal Article
In: Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 10, iss. 1, pp. 89, 2024, ISSN: 2364-5504.
2023
Contact Endoscopy – Narrow Band Imaging (CE-NBI) data set for laryngeal lesion assessment Journal Article
In: Scientific Data, vol. 10, no. 1, 2023, ISSN: 2052-4463, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37865668/).
Vibro-acoustic sensing of tissue-instrument-interactions allows a differentiation of biological tissue in computerised palpation Journal Article
In: Computers in Biology and Medicine, vol. 164, pp. 107272, 2023, ISSN: 0010-4825, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37515873/).

Clustering Methods for Vibro-Acoustic Sensing Features as a Potential Approach to Tissue Characterisation in Robot-Assisted Interventions Journal Article
In: Sensors, vol. 23, no. 23, pp. 9297, 2023, ISSN: 1424-8220, (Publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38067671/).

Vibro-Acoustic Sensing of Instrument Interactions as a Potential Source of Texture-Related Information in Robotic Palpation Journal Article
In: Sensors, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 3141, 2023, ISSN: 1424-8220, (Publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36991854/).
2022
The Advances in Computer Vision That Are Enabling More Autonomous Actions in Surgery: A Systematic Review of the Literature Journal Article
In: Sensors, vol. 22, no. 13, pp. 4918, 2022, ISSN: 1424-8220, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35808408/).
2021
Deep Convolution Neural Network for Laryngeal Cancer Classification on Contact Endoscopy-Narrow Band Imaging Journal Article
In: Sensors, vol. 21, no. 23, pp. 8157, 2021, ISSN: 1424-8220, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34884166/).
Vascular Auscultation of Carotid Artery: Towards Biometric Identification and Verification of Individuals Journal Article
In: Sensors, vol. 21, no. 19, pp. 6656, 2021, ISSN: 1424-8220.

Study of Needle Punctures into Soft Tissue Through Audio and Force Sensing: Can Audio Be a Simple Alternative for Needle Guidance? Journal Article
In: International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery, vol. 16, no. 10, pp. 1683–1697, 2021, ISSN: 1861-6410, 1861-6429, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34652603/).
Artificial Intelligence Surgery: How Do We Get to Autonomous Actions in Surgery? Journal Article
In: Sensors, vol. 21, no. 16, pp. 5526, 2021, ISSN: 1424-8220.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the intraoperative evaluation of vocal fold leukoplakias Proceedings Article
In: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde, Kopf- und Hals-Chirurgie e.V., Bonn, Georg Thieme Verlag KG, 2021, ISSN: 1438-8685.
In: Diagnostics, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 432, 2021, ISSN: 2075-4418.
2020
Auscultation System for Acquisition of Vascular Sounds – Towards Sound-Based Monitoring of the Carotid Artery Journal Article
In: Medical Devices: Evidence and Research, vol. Volume 13, pp. 349–364, 2020, ISSN: 1179-1470, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33162758/).
Thyroid Nodule Classification for Physician Decision Support Using Machine Learning-Evaluated Geometric and Morphological Features Journal Article
In: Sensors, vol. 20, no. 21, pp. 6110, 2020, ISSN: 1424-8220, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33121054/).
Investigating an Optimal Signal Epoch Length for Cardiotocographic Classification Journal Article
In: Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 514–517, 2020, ISSN: 2364-5504.
Manual versus Automatic Classification of Laryngeal Lesions based on Vascular Patterns in CE+NBI Images Journal Article
In: Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 70–73, 2020, ISSN: 2364-5504.
Surgical Audio Guidance: Feasibility Check for Robotic Surgery Procedures Journal Article
In: Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 571–574, 2020, ISSN: 2364-5504.
Acoustic sensing of tissue-tool interactions – potential applications in arthroscopic surgery Journal Article
In: Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 595–598, 2020, ISSN: 2364-5504.
Integration of Acoustic Emission and Ultrasound for Needle Guidance in Interventional Procedures Journal Article
In: International Journal of Biomedical and Clinical Engineering, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 45–55, 2020, ISSN: 2161-1629.
Laryngeal Lesion Classification Based on Vascular Patterns in Contact Endoscopy and Narrow Band Imaging: Manual Versus Automatic Approach Journal Article
In: Sensors, vol. 20, no. 14, pp. 4018, 2020, ISSN: 1424-8220, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32707740/).
Endoscopic filter fluorometer for detection of accumulation of Protoporphyrin IX to improve photodynamic diagnostic (PDD) Journal Article
In: Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 6, no. 1, 2020, ISSN: 2364-5504.
Frequency and average gray-level information for thermal ablation status in ultrasound B-Mode sequences Journal Article
In: Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 6, no. 1, 2020, ISSN: 2364-5504.
Surgical audio information as base for haptic feedback in robotic-assisted procedures Journal Article
In: Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 6, no. 1, 2020, ISSN: 2364-5504.
Computer Aided Diagnosis: Initial Results for the Detection of Thyroid Nodules using US Images Proceedings Article
In: 58. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Nuklearmedizin, © Georg Thieme Verlag KG, 2020, ISSN: 2567-6407.
Feasibility Check: Can Audio Be a Simple Alternative to Force-Based Feedback for Needle Guidance? Book Section
In: Martel, A; Abolmaesumi, P; Stoyanov, D; Mateus, D; Zuluaga, M; Zhou, S; Racoceanu, D; Joskowicz, L (Ed.): Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention – MICCAI 2020, vol. 12263, pp. 24–33, Springer International Publishing, Cham, 2020, ISBN: 978-3-030-59715-3 978-3-030-59716-0, (Series Title: Lecture Notes in Computer Science).
Evaluation of Vascular Patterns Using Contact Endoscopy and Narrow-Band Imaging (CE-NBI) for the Diagnosis of Vocal Fold Malignancy Journal Article
In: Cancers, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 248, 2020, ISSN: 2072-6694, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31968528/).
2019
In: Applied Sciences, vol. 9, no. 24, pp. 5421, 2019, ISSN: 2076-3417.
Seizure prediction with cross-higher-order spectral analysis of EEG signals Journal Article
In: Signal, Image and Video Processing, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 821–828, 2019, ISSN: 1863-1711.
Surgical Audio Guidance SurAG: Extracting Non-Invasively Meaningful Guidance Information During Minimally Invasive Procedures Proceedings Article
In: 2019 IEEE 19th International Conference on Bioinformatics and Bioengineering (BIBE), pp. 567–570, IEEE, 2019.
Foetal heart rate assessment by empirical mode decomposition and spectral analysis Journal Article
In: Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 381–383, 2019, ISSN: 2364-5504.
Automatic differentiation between Veress needle events in laparoscopic access using proximally attached audio signal characterization Journal Article
In: Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 369–371, 2019, ISSN: 2364-5504.
Audio waves and its loss of energy in puncture needles Journal Article
In: Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 21–24, 2019, ISSN: 2364-5504.
Computer Assisted Auscultation System for Phonoangiography of the Carotid Artery Journal Article
In: Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 175–178, 2019, ISSN: 2364-5504.
Exploring the Possibilities to Characterize the Soft Tissue Using Acoustic Emission Waveforms Book Chapter
In: Future Trends in Biomedical and Health Informatics and Cybersecurity in Medical Devices, pp. 9–14, Springer International Publishing, 2019, ISSN: 1433-9277.
Texture differentiation using audio signal analysis with robotic interventional instruments Journal Article
In: Computers in Biology and Medicine, vol. 112, pp. 103370, 2019, ISSN: 0010-4825, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31374348/).
A Preliminary Study on Automatic Characterization and Classification of Vascular Patterns of Contact Endoscopy Images Proceedings Article
In: 2019 41st Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), pp. 2703–2706, IEEE, 2019, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31946453/).
Assessment of Sound Features for Needle Perforation Event Detection Proceedings Article
In: 2019 41st Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), pp. 2597–2600, IEEE, 2019, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31946428/).
Cardiotocograph Data Classification Improvement by Using Empirical Mode Decomposition Proceedings Article
In: 2019 41st Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), pp. 5646–5649, IEEE, 2019, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31947134/).
Design of an Auscultation System for Phonoangiography and Monitoring of Carotid Artery Diseases Proceedings Article
In: 2019 41st Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), pp. 1776–1779, IEEE, 2019, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31946241/).
Higher Order Statistical Analysis for Thyroid Texture Classification and Segmentation in 2D ultrasound Images Proceedings Article
In: 2019 41st Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), pp. 5832–5835, IEEE, 2019, (PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31947178/).