Pictured Above: Dr. Gabriella d’Albenzio (bottom right) and her colleagues.
Dr. Gabriella d’Albenzio is a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Computing working under the supervision of Dr. Gabor Fichtinger. Dr. d’Albenzio trained at the Sapienza University of Rome and the University of Oslo before joining Queen’s University in 2024. Dr. d'Albenzio applies her expertise in biomedical engineering, clinical engineering, and informatics to develop novel and cost-effective ways to improve healthcare around the world. Her recent research projects involve developing minimally invasive procedures with assistance from medical images, particularly safe and accessible ultrasound, to make the most effective and least invasive procedures for clinicians around the world.
Dr. d’Albenzio was recently award a Postdoc Travel Award to attend Slicer Week in Las Palmas of the Canary Islands. Slicer Week is an event where researchers develop and improve a free, open-source software to assist in clinical interventions. She and a colleague from Queen’s University, Dr. Rebecca Hisey collaborated on a new ultrasound-guided system for nephrostomy intervention during the week, enhancing it to include real-time organ segmentation. Following this, Dr. d’Albenzio and Dr. Hisey travelled to Senegal and Mauritania to train medical residents and biomedical engineers how to use the new intervention. In Mauritania, they implemented and tested a low-cost, software-free ultrasound nephrostomy guidance system in collaboration with local medical teams, aiming to overcome critical barriers associated with the reliance on proprietary technologies in underserved healthcare settings.
Dr. d’Albenzio participated in the 3 Minute Research competition where she summarized this current project in non-technical language for a general audience. She explained how this applied research directly reduces the cost of nephrostomy intervention from approximately $20 per treatment to less than $1, by eliminating the need for disposable needle guide kits and proprietary software. This dramatic reduction in treatment cost and creation of open, accessible clinical tools shows the incredible impact Gabriella’s research is already having in healthcare settings globally.
Dr. d’Albenzio is an interdisciplinary and international researcher with ongoing collaborations in Canada, Senegal, Mauritania, Norway, the Netherlands and Italy. She brings together new and innovative ideas across fields and borders to improve healthcare for all. We look forward to seeing how Dr. d’Albenzio’s work will continue to create positive impact!
Pictured Below: Dr. d’Albenzio (working on laptop) and colleagues training medical residents on new clinincal intervention.
