Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Laura Connolly is a leading researcher at the intersection of open-source software and medical robotics, dedicated to making advanced surgical technology more accessible and reproducible. Her primary contributions lie in developing integrated platforms for image-guided robotic interventions, most notably through the creation of SlicerROS2—a pioneering software module that bridges the widely-used medical imaging platform 3D Slicer with the Robot Operating System (ROS2). This work, detailed in her highly cited 2021 and 2022 papers, establishes a standard, open-source framework for cooperative, semi-autonomous robotic surgery. Demonstrating the real-world application of her software, Connolly also designed and validated a lightweight, MR-conditional robot for lumbar spinal injections, a breakthrough for treating lower back pain within the MRI environment. With over 34 combined citations across her key publications, her impact is rapidly growing. Her commitment to open-source solutions, from surgical platforms to navigational toolkits (ENTRI), positions her as a pivotal figure in democratizing the future of precision surgery and robotic research.