Final Theses

• Entwicklung eines Prüfstands zur Untersuchung der Funktionsweise eines Zählers für Wiederaufbereitungsvorgänge

• Robotic Scrub Nurse: Regelung und Bahnplanung für einen Knickarmroboter im Anwendungsfall der chirurgischen Instrumentenbereitstellung

• Deep Learning System zur Erkennung von Eigenschaften chirurgischer Instrumente: Orientierung, Greifbereiche, Überschneidungen

• Selbstlernendes Deep Learning System zur Erkennung von chirurgischen Instrumenten 

• Entwicklung und Validierung einer Richtungssteuerungs für einen Soft Robot für die Endoskopie

• Low Pressure-Soft Everting Robot für endoskopische Anwendung

• Granular Jamming Gripper zur Handhabung chirurgischer Instrumente

• Weiterentwicklung eines Prototyps zur nicht-invasiven Messung der Kapillardichte am Finger bei Verdacht auf Präeklampsie

• Untersuchung der Eignung verschiedener mikromechanischer Ultraschallwandler zur Ödemdetektion am Finger

• Entwicklung und Integration zweier sensorbasierter Prototypen zur kombinierten Symptomdetektion in einem Diagnosesystem 

• Automatisierte Erkennung und Quantifizierung der Kapillardichte in der Nagelfalz mittels Künstlicher Intelligenz – Entwicklung eines bildbasierten Analyseverfahrens

• Entwicklung eines Modells eines menschlichen Zeigefingers zur Ödemsimulation

• Untersuchung des Einflusses des Sensordesigns auf die Gewebeeindringtiefe am Beispiel der Ödemdetektion bei Präeklampsie 

• Delphi-Studie zur Bedarfsermittlung an ein nicht-invasives Präeklampsie-Früherkennungsgerät 

• EMI Abschirmung von Messystemen in der Medizintechnik mittels 3D-Druck funktionaler Materialien

• Entwicklung und Validierung von Strategien zur Steuerung des Vorschubs und Rückzugs eines Soft Everting Robot für die roboterassistierte Endoskopie

• Robotic Scrub Nurse als Assistenzsystem zur Handhabung chirurgischer Instrumente: Objektverfolgung, Bahnplanung und Mensch-Roboter-Kollaboration

• Systematische Analyse und Evaluierung gezielter Generalisierungsstrategien in KI-basierten chirurgischen Assistenzsystemen

• Entwicklung einer interaktiven Demo zur Visualisierung der Modellleistung in KI-basierten chirurgischen Assistenzsystemen

• Strategien für robuste Vorhersagen in der chirurgischen Phasenerkennung durch gezielte Inferenzmethoden

• Lernen zu lernen: Meta Learning für die schnelle Adaption in der chirurgischen Phasenerkennung

• Handgehaltenes Sensorsystem zur Aufzeichnung von Interaktionskräften in der Ophthalmochirurgie: Systemüberarbeitung und Funktionserweiterung

• ROS modeling of a Reaction Force Free robot with Haptic Communication for Capsule Endoscopic Examination

• Handgehaltenes Sensorsystem zur Aufzeichnung von Interaktionskräften in der Ophthalmochirurgie: Messdatenverarbeitung

• Simulation von 3D-gedruckten Knochenersatz

1. You have found a suitable topic in the list of open theses. It is best to contact the supervisor by e-mail.
2. The e-mail should contain the following information:
   • Topic you are interested in
   • Information about your degree course (degree course, semester, fields of competence (B.Sc.)/specialization subjects (M.Sc.))
   • Current transcript of records
   • CV
3. As soon as the supervisor has received the e-mail, they will contact you.

Your thesis and your success are very important to us. We therefore want to provide you with the best possible support as you work on it. You will find many answers – including to questions you haven’t even thought of yet – in a little booklet that we will provide you with at the start.

What you can expect from us

• Close, regular and reliable supervision
• A workspace at the institute
• Lab space, workshop facilities and plenty of technology
• Templates, guidelines and prompt support

What we expect from you

• Two 6-minute talks at the BASAMA seminar
• Three short presentations as part of the lab tour (3 minutes each)
• A final presentation lasting 20’ + 10’
• A poster (70 x 100 cm², as a PDF) following your final presentation

Supervision process

• You will meet with your supervisor once a week for a regular supervision session. You will prepare for these sessions with an agenda and write a brief summary afterwards.
• Your supervisor acts as a discussion partner and provides technical and methodological input – but will not tell you what to do.
• On your journey to completion, we are the safety barrier – but not your satnav!

Interim presentations

• The BASAMA seminar is a regular feature at the IMT. On Wednesdays between 10 and 11 am, you have the opportunity to listen to your fellow students’ presentations and to give presentations yourself. This serves as training and a forum for exchange among students and is not included in the assessment.
• In odd calendar weeks (CW), the presentations last six minutes (plus five minutes’ discussion) and are delivered using PowerPoint via the projector in the seminar room. In even calendar weeks, we meet in the computer lab for the ‘Lab Tour’. Here, the presentations last just three minutes plus four minutes’ discussion, and you should ideally present a piece of hardware that you can pass around.
• The Joint Commission for Mechanical Engineering (GKM) at the University of Stuttgart has decided that students in Faculties 4 and 7 must attend at least nine seminar presentations (= presentations on final projects) as part of a Bachelor’s thesis, research project, or Master's theis. A seminar presentation may, for example, be a final presentation, a presentation as part of a doctoral colloquium, or a guest lecture by an external researcher. We also count each weekly BASAMA seminar as one of these compulsory presentations, so that you can easily meet the requirement.

Grading

• Your work will be graded transparently according to a set scheme, which we will discuss with you at the start of your project.
• Immediately after your final presentation, your examiner, together with your supervisor, will determine your mark in a brief discussion and inform you of it.
• The mark will be entered into C@AMPUS once you have tidied everything up, returned your key and completed all other necessary tasks. If you’re quick – so are we!

If none of the listed topics for open theses appeal to you or if no topic is advertised in the desired research area, an unsolicited application is always possible.    

Please visit our website to find out more about our main research areas and current research projects and send an e-mail to the person responsible.

Your e-mail should contain the following information:

• Topic you are interested in
• Desired focus within the topic
• Information about your degree course (degree course, semester, fields of competence (B.Sc.)/specialization subjects (M.Sc.))
• Current transcript of records
• CV

As soon as the supervisor has received the e-mail, they will contact you.

Please note: we cannot supervise theses from other universities (the same applies to HAWs – Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften – Universities of applied sciences). You must look for a supervisor at your home university.

Only under certain circumstances (e.g. cooperation projects, part-time degree programmes) can an exception be made.

It is also not possible to write a thesis (Bachelor's or Master's thesis) at the IMT as a member of another university.

The Institute for Medical Device Technology supports students of medical technology in the execution of external master theses [1] at cooperating companies. Usually, these topics are developed in the context of jointly conducted projects. In exceptional cases, however, completely external topics can be worked on upon request.

[1] Bachelor- and student research projects are always conducted internally at Stuttgart University.

The definition of a topic has to be done with care. Under no circumstances should the topic be a hidden internship or a simple service ("Hiwi-Job"). If, for example, the measurement procedure has already been determined and the sensors have already been purchased, "Construction of a test stand for the investigation of..." is not a suitable topic. Also, it is only of limited use to write the Master's thesis at the company where the mandatory internship was completed, as the study is intended to serve as a training and to gain as much experience as possible.

The best approach is to start with a hypothesis (e.g. "It is possible to measure the parameter X with sufficient accuracy and dynamics in order to achieve Y."), set up an experiment, test bench or functional model and then verify the hypothesis in a key experiment or characterization. The work is carried out under supervision and the candidate can make his or her own decisions. This means that there must be different options for a solution.

The following points must therefore be critically considered:

• First, define a hypothesis.
• Only one A-problem may [2] have to be processed. At the beginning, all decisive ambiguities must not be eliminated.
• The solution space must contain more than one potential solution.
• The student must be free in finding the solution. It must be possible to carry out the work openly.
• The problem must be so important for the company that it provides sufficient resources for support and, if necessary, for the construction of a demonstrator, but it must not be so important that the result has a direct influence on the turnover and must be available by a certain date.
• The creativity of the student must be used.
• The company must have a staff member pointed out who regularly (e.g. once per week) discusses with the student.
• The company must accept that the student will give one or two intermediate presentations and the final lecture at the University of Stuttgart. The contents can be designed in a way that IP is protected. A dedicated NDA will not be negotiated.

[2] A, B and C problems are distinguished. For the latter, a solution exists and is immediately available. For B problems it is clear that there is a solution, but it must be procured or specifically adapted. With A problems it is certain that there can be a solution, but this solution is new and must be developed.

1. You contact us with a proposed topic (in writing, max. one page), we will arrange a meeting date.
2. We will discuss the topic with you and - if there is still a need for clarification - involve the company.
3. You negotiate an employment contract with the company.
4. You register the topic and process it. The maximum processing time is 6 months (see Prüfungsordnung).
5. When you sign the registration form, you will receive a brochure from us containing all the important information on processing, the written part, and the presentations we expect you to give.
6. At about half time we will visit you and you will give an interim presentation. During this we will clarify the current state of affairs and discuss next steps and expectations.
7. In the second half of the session, you will give an interim presentation at the IMT – after consultation with the company.
8. You will give your final presentation at the IMT approximately two weeks after handing in your work.
9. For a Master thesis a dedicated NDA will not be negotiated. If necessary, a confidentially agreement can be signed by the supervisor.