Asst Prof Subburaj Karupppasamy

Engineering Product Development (EPD), SUTD

Research Interests: Bio-Medical Engineering,Rapid Prototyping,Medical Imaging

Email: subburaj@sutd.edu.sg
Website: http://med.sutd.edu.sg/
Contact: +65 6499 4897

Subburaj (Subbu) is an Assistant Professor in the Pillar of Engineering Product Development (EPD) at SUTD, where he leads Healthcare Engineering and Design Track and the Medical Engineering and Design Lab. He leads an inter-disciplinary research team with the goal of designing and developing medical devices, assistive technologies, image-based quantitative biomarkers, and computing tools (Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence) for diagnosing, monitoring, treating, and potentially preventing musculoskeletal disorders (Knee Osteoarthritis/ Osteoporosis / Bone Fracture ) and disabilities by understanding bio-mechanical implications of those diseases and disabilities.. He collaborated with physicians and clinical researchers from Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), Technical University of Munich (TUM), Singapore General Hospital (SGH), and Changi General Hospital (CGH) to combine research and technical expertise to address real-life clinical problems affecting Asia-Pacific and the World.

Before joning SUTD, he did his postdoctoral work in Musculoskeletal Quantitative Imaging Research (MQIR) laboratory at University of California San Francisco (UCSF).  At UCSF, he worked with a spectrum of clinicians (from radiology, orthopaedic surgeons, sports medicine, and physiotherapy/rehabilitation science) on characterizing magnetic resonance image (MRI) based bio-markers to understand the physiological and biochemical response of knee joint cartilage to physical exercise and acute loading. He has also developed and validated 3D modelling and quantification methods to study joint (hip/knee) loading pattern and contact kinematics in young healthy adults and patients with osteoarthritis.

Subbu received his PhD from the Indian Institute Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), India in 2009.  During his PhD, he collaborated with Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH), Mumbai  on developing a Surgery Planning System for Tumour Knee Reoconstruction. He developed automated geometric reasoning algorithms to (i) extract morphometric characteristics of bones (femur/tibia/pelvis) using 3D reconstructed models from CT images, (ii) automate pre-operative planning and guidance tasks of limb salvage surgery, and (iii) extract patient-specific anatomical parameters for designing implants for joint replacements (knee/hip). He also worked with Orthodontists from local hospitals in Mumbai, India on designing and developing prostheses and surgical instruments/guides for reconstructing maxillofaical defects. After his PhD, he worked as a Research Specialist (surgery planning) in the Biomedical Engineering Technology incubation Centre (BETiC) at IIT Bombay, before moving to UCSF for his postdoctoral studies.