About

Imin Kao is a Professor and the Executive Director of SUNY Korea at the Department of Mechanical Engineering. His research focuses on robotics, stiffness control, wiresaw manufacturing processes, manufacturing automation, and Taguchi methods. His work involves developing advanced robotic systems and automation techniques to improve manufacturing processes and control systems, contributing to the fields of robotics and manufacturing engineering.

Research topics

• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Science
• Computer vision
• Mathematics
• Surgery
• Medicine
• Biomedical engineering
• Nuclear medicine
• Physics
• Control engineering
• Acoustics
• Radiology
• Algorithm
• Engineering
• Structural engineering

Selected publications

• Manipulation

  2025-01-01

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Application of Raman Spectroscopy Using a Handheld Probe to Characterize Human White Adipose Tissue

  Journal of Raman Spectroscopy · 2025-04-10 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  ABSTRACT Raman spectroscopy analysis has been used successfully to distinguish normal from neoplastic tissue during surgical resection of tumors. However, microscopic Raman spectroscopy is typically time‐consuming and restricted to examining only a small, specific region of the tissue. Recently developed handheld Raman probes have shown promise to overcome these limitations and thus be developed as an intraoperative tool to categorize and identify various types of tissues. In this paper, we evaluated the use of Raman spectroscopy by a handheld probe in feasibility studies of fresh samples of normal human white adipose tissue (WAT) taken from adjacent to four sarcomas to determine the accuracy and consistency of measurements under varying ex vivo conditions. We also studied if the results are affected by freezing the samples, a common practice in ex vivo protocols, or by covering the probe with polyethylene, which could be used under sterile conditions during surgery. Our findings showed that the handheld probe provided consistent Raman measurements in white adipose samples and that exposing fat tissue to different freezing protocols does not significantly affect the integrity and representation of prominent peaks for the tissue, resulting in consistent identification of tissue spectra. We also found that covering the probe with polyethylene had minimal effects on measurement of the WAT spectra, which suggests that sterile polyethylene could be used to cover the probe in the operating room to maintain sterility. Our findings suggest that Raman spectroscopy with a handheld probe has potential to be developed for use in the OR to identify normal adipose tissue in a surgical bed.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Improved Accuracy in Pelvic Tumor Resections Using a Real‐Time Vision‐Guided Surgical System

  Journal of Orthopaedic Research® · 2025-05-23 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Pelvic bone tumor resections remain significantly challenging due to complex three-dimensional anatomy and limited surgical visualization. While accurate, current navigation systems and patient-specific instruments present limitations, including high costs, radiation exposure, workflow disruption, long production time, and lack of reusability. This study evaluates a real-time vision-guided surgical system combined with modular jigs to improve accuracy in pelvic bone tumor resections. A vision-guided surgical system combined with modular cutting jigs and real-time optical tracking was developed and validated. Five male pelvis sawbones were used, with each hemipelvis randomly assigned to either the vision-guided and modular jig system or the traditional freehand method. A total of 20 resection planes were analyzed for each method. Accuracy was assessed by measuring distance and angular deviations from the planned resection planes. The vision-guided and modular jig system significantly improved resection accuracy compared to the freehand method, reducing the mean distance deviation from 2.07 ± 1.71 mm to 1.01 ± 0.78 mm (p = 0.0193). In particular, all specimens resected using the vision-guided system exhibited errors of less than 3 mm. Angular deviations also showed significant improvements with roll angle deviation reduced from 15.36 ± 17.57° to 4.21 ± 3.46° (p = 0.0275), and pitch angle deviation decreased from 6.17 ± 4.58° to 1.84 ± 1.48° (p < 0.001). The proposed vision-guided and modular jig system significantly improves the accuracy of pelvic bone tumor resections while maintaining workflow efficiency. This cost-effective solution provides real-time guidance without the need for referencing external monitors, potentially improving surgical outcomes in complex pelvic bone tumor cases.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 3-Dimensional kinematics and kinetics of the snatch in elite and varsity weightlifters

  Journal of Biomechanics · 2025-03-11 · 2 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Using Video Podcast to Enhance Students' Learning Experience in Engineering

  2025-01-22 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The students and faculty today have available to them many technologies that did not exist a decade ago.Such technologies can be great tools for the delivery of course contents to enhance students' learning experience.In this presentation, podcast is employed as an asynchronous online tool in engineering courses to record lectures and supplementary materials.The University podcast server is configured for students to download the episodes of organized lectures and supplementary materials.Mostly, this is done on iTunes, available on both PC and Mac.The podcast contents appear as a playlist on the "Podcasts" directory in iTunes, although students can also download the files and view them in other media players such as Window Media Player.Various modules of supplementary materials were published as podcast episodes in addition to the regular lectures.Such supplementary lectures include clarification of concepts in lectures with necessary materials and media which facilitate the understanding of topics presented in the class, such as problem formulation and solving.Surveys conducted at the end of the semester and analysis are used as an assessment tool to evaluate the effectiveness of integrating podcast to teaching.This pedagogical tool for asynchronous teaching and learning has recently been employed in the online engineering program in the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Using Video Podcast to Enhance Students' Learning Experience in Engineering

  2025-04-02

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The students and faculty today have available to them many technologies that did not exist a decade ago.Such technologies can be great tools for the delivery of course contents to enhance students' learning experience.In this presentation, podcast is employed as an asynchronous online tool in engineering courses to record lectures and supplementary materials.The University podcast server is configured for students to download the episodes of organized lectures and supplementary materials.Mostly, this is done on iTunes, available on both PC and Mac.The podcast contents appear as a playlist on the "Podcasts" directory in iTunes, although students can also download the files and view them in other media players such as Window Media Player.Various modules of supplementary materials were published as podcast episodes in addition to the regular lectures.Such supplementary lectures include clarification of concepts in lectures with necessary materials and media which facilitate the understanding of topics presented in the class, such as problem formulation and solving.Surveys conducted at the end of the semester and analysis are used as an assessment tool to evaluate the effectiveness of integrating podcast to teaching.This pedagogical tool for asynchronous teaching and learning has recently been employed in the online engineering program in the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Ex-vivo Raman spectroscopy and AI-based classification of soft tissue sarcomas

  PLoS ONE · 2025-09-02

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are a diverse and rare group of malignant tumors arising from the connective tissues of the body, including fibrous tissue, muscles, fat, nerves, and blood vessels. The heterogeneity and infrequency of these tumors pose significant challenges in both diagnosis and treatment. Surgical resection remains the primary treatment strategy, often complemented by radiation or chemotherapy, contingent upon the tumor's size, location, and stage. However, current methods for assessing intraoperative margins are limited, underscoring the need for improved approaches that enhance both efficiency and accuracy. This study investigates the potential of microscopic Raman spectroscopy for distinguishing between different subtypes of soft tissue sarcomas, benign tumors, and normal tissue. Ex-vivo Raman measurements were conducted using a 633 nm excitation wavelength on samples obtained from surgical resections of seven patients (286,672 spectra). After pre-processing of the data, a custom ResNet architecture was developed to accurately classify the different tissue types, achieving an overall weighted accuracy of 97.1% and a clinical alert rate of 1.46%, a critical metric for quantifying the misclassification of malignant tissues. These findings suggest that single Raman spectra could serve as a rapid, non-invasive tool for surgical guidance, aiding in the precise identification of abnormal tissue types and margins.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 3-dimensional kinematics and kinetics of the snatch in elite and varsity weightlifters

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Biomechanical and neuromuscular differences between the snatch and clean in elite weightlifters

  Journal of Biomechanics · 2025-12-05

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Does cranial cruciate ligament repair by tibial plateau leveling osteotomy surgery restore dog’s natural kinematics? – A case series

  The Veterinary Journal · 2024-10-18

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Contact Interface Modeling and Stiffness-based Biomedical Diagnosis with Sensing Technology Towards a Better Quality of Life

  NSF · $256k · 2008–2012

• Innovative Technique for Micro and Nano Materials Testing and International Collaboration

  NSF · $60k · 2003–2007

• Sensors: Design of smart miniaturized sensor and interpretation of sensor data in intelligent diagnosis of mechanical-pneumatic systems

  NSF · $297k · 2004–2009

Frequent coauthors

• Fuqian Yang

  Beihang University

  21 shared

• Chunhui Chung

  16 shared

• Songbin Wei

  Cisco Systems (China)

  16 shared

• Shih-Feng Chen

  Lunghwa University of Science and Technology

  15 shared

• V. Prasad

  University of North Texas

  15 shared

• Milind Bhagavat

  14 shared

• Chia-Hung Dylan Tsai

  Tzu Chi University

  14 shared

• Liqun Zhu

  13 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering

  University of California, Berkeley

  1994

• M.S., Mechanical Engineering

  University of California, Berkeley

  1991

• B.S., Mechanical Engineering

  University of California, Berkeley

  1989

Awards & honors

• SUNY Chancellor’s Award of Excellence in Teaching
• Student Life Award at the Stony Brook University
• member of Tau Beta Pi, the National Honor Society of Enginee…