Postdoctoral Researcher · Vanderbilt University

Bowen
Xiang, Ph.D.

I build mixed-reality surgical navigation systems that help surgeons see what lies beneath — holographic guidance for image-guided interventions, with a focus on precision liver surgery.

Field
Image-Guided Surgery · Mixed Reality · 3D Vision
Lab
Biomedical Modeling Laboratory · PI: Dr. Michael I. Miga
Based
Nashville, Tennessee
Elsewhere
Email · LinkedIn · Scholar
PORTRAIT · 2026
NASHVILLE, TN
Bowen Xiang
BOWEN XIANG · PH.D VANDERBILT · BME
§ 01  ·  Research

On seeing inside the body.

My research develops mixed-reality surgical navigation — augmented-reality systems that overlay patient-specific anatomy directly onto the surgical field. Working at the intersection of 3D computer vision, biomechanics, and head-mounted display hardware, I design end-to-end systems that track instruments, compensate for organ deformation, and present stable holographic guidance to the surgeon in real time.

The central question I pursue: how do we make the digital anatomical model trustworthy enough to act on in the operating room? That means quantifying hologram stability, depth sensing accuracy, eye tracking precision, and subsurface target localization — and engineering the pipeline so every number earns the clinic's trust.

i.

Mixed-Reality Surgical Navigation

Self-contained AR guidance systems on HoloLens 2 and Magic Leap 2 for laparoscopic and open liver surgery.

ii.

Intraoperative Surface Acquisition

Comparing contact-based digitization and noncontact depth sensing for model-to-patient registration of soft tissue.

iii.

Deformation Correction

Physics-informed registration pipelines that align preoperative imaging with the intraoperative organ.

iv.

Headset Validation

Quantitative benchmarks for hologram drift, eye-tracking angular error, marker tracking, and depth-camera precision.

§ 02  ·  Publications

Peer-reviewed work.

  1. J · 01
    Mixed Reality Surgical Navigation System for Liver Interventions with Comprehensive Validation using Subsurface Target Localization
    Bowen Xiang, Jon S. Heiselman, Dingjie Su, Michael I. Miga
    IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering · 2025
    Under Review
  2. J · 02
    Bowen Xiang, Jon S. Heiselman, Michael I. Miga
    Journal of Medical Imaging · 12(5), 055001 · October 2025
    Journal
  3. J · 03
    Bowen Xiang, Jon S. Heiselman, Winona L. Richey, Michael I. D'Angelica, Alice C. Wei, T. Peter Kingham, Frankangel Servin, Kyvia Pereira, Sunil K. Geevarghese, William R. Jarnagin, Michael I. Miga
    Journal of Medical Imaging · 11(2), 025001 · March 2024
    Journal
  4. J · 04
    ReSNA: A Robotic-Enabled Surgical Navigation Assistant for Breast-Conserving Surgery
    Zixuan Liu, Bowen Xiang, Jon S. Heiselman, Jie Ying Wu, Ingrid M. Meszoely, Michael I. Miga
    IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L) · 2026
    Under Review
  5. J · 05
    Insertion Network for Image Sequence Correspondence
    Dingjie Su, Bowen Xiang, Weixiang Hong, Benoit M. Dawant, Bennett A. Landman
    Journal of Medical Imaging · 2026
    Under Review
  6. J · 06
    Clinical Evaluation of Deformation-Corrected Image Guidance for Laparoscopic Liver Surgery: A Prospective Blinded Randomized Study
    Jon S. Heiselman, Winona R. Nice, Kyvia Pereira, Bowen Xiang, Frankangel Servin, Adrian Chu, Marion Liu, Kevin C. Soares, Alice C. Wei, T. Peter Kingham, William R. Jarnagin, Michael I. Miga
    Surgery · 2025
    Under Review
  7. J · 07
    P. M. Borden, P. Zhang, A. V. Shivange, J. S. Marvin, J. Cichon, et al. (incl. B. Xiang)
    bioRxiv · 2020
    Journal
  8. C · 01
    Bowen Xiang, Zixuan Liu, Michael I. Miga
    Proc. SPIE 13927, Medical Imaging 2026: Image-Guided Procedures · April 2026
    Conference
  9. C · 02
    Bowen Xiang, Jon S. Heiselman, Michael I. Miga
    Proc. SPIE 13408, Medical Imaging 2025: Image-Guided Procedures · April 2025
    Conference
  10. C · 03
    Bowen Xiang, Jon S. Heiselman, Winona L. Richey, William R. Jarnagin, Michael I. Miga
    Proc. SPIE 12466, Medical Imaging 2023: Image-Guided Procedures · April 2023
    Conference
  11. C · 04
    Richie Dix, Mays Neiroukh, Bowen Xiang, Jie Ying Wu, Michael C. Topf, Ingrid M. Meszoely, Jon S. Heiselman, Michael I. Miga, Kyvia Pereira
    Proc. SPIE 13927, Medical Imaging 2026: Image-Guided Procedures · April 2026
    Conference
  12. C · 05
    Dingjie Su, Bowen Xiang, Benoit M. Dawant
    Proc. SPIE 13927, Medical Imaging 2026: Image-Guided Procedures · April 2026
    Conference
  13. P · 01
    Self-Contained Surgical Navigation System in Augmented Reality Head Mounted Device
    Bowen Xiang, Jon S. Heiselman, Michael I. Miga
    U.S. Patent Application No. 63/757,494 · VU25032P1 · February 2025
    Patent
§ 03  ·  Experience

Trajectory & training.

2025 — Present

Postdoctoral Researcher

Vanderbilt University · Department of Biomedical Engineering · PI: Michael I. Miga
  • Technical evaluation of next-generation mixed-reality headsets (Magic Leap 2) — hologram stability, depth sensing precision, eye tracking accuracy, and marker tracking — to determine clinical suitability.
  • Migrating the surgical navigation system to advanced MR platforms to enhance real-time performance, tracking robustness, and drive the technology closer to intraoperative implementation.
2020 — 2025

Doctoral Research

Vanderbilt University · Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering · Advisor: Michael I. Miga
  • Developed a comprehensive mixed-reality surgical navigation system for precision liver surgery integrating real-time tool tracking, deformation correction, and dynamic 3D anatomical visualization.
  • Built an AR system on HoloLens 2 for in situ visualization of live ultrasound with retroreflective inside-out probe tracking.
  • Designed and validated a holographic four-panel display mimicking traditional surgical navigation layouts.
  • Compared noncontact and contact-based digitization approaches for soft-tissue model-to-physical alignment.
  • Participated in the 2024 Space-Edge Accelerator Program (Blue Origin · Space Foundation) exploring biomedical innovations for space commercialization.
2019 — 2020

Capstone · Watkins Lab

University of Virginia · Department of Oncology · Advisor: William Tyler Watkins
  • Built and validated a real-time dose calculator providing immediate dose-volume estimates to streamline clinical decision-making.
  • Developed MATLAB scripts applying HGDS/LDS functions at target boundaries for accurate dose-volume histogram estimations.
2018 — 2019

Undergraduate Researcher · Zhu Lab

University of Virginia · Department of Pharmacology · Advisor: J. Julius Zhu
  • Converted electron microscopy images into 3D colormaps for precise localization of neuronal excitation points.
  • Analyzed microscopy data with an exponential decay model, revealing ~1 µm transmission distance for ACh and DA in astrocytes and neurons.
§ 04  ·  Education & Honors

Degrees, awards, distinctions.

Education

  • Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering
    Vanderbilt University · Nashville, TN
    2020 — 2025
  • B.S., Biomedical Engineering
    University of Virginia · High Distinction
    2018 — 2020
  • Biological Systems Engineering
    Virginia Tech · Blacksburg, VA
    2016 — 2018

Awards & Service

  • Thomas R. Harris Graduate Fellowship
    Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering
    2020
  • University Honors & Dean's List
    College of Engineering · UVA
    2016 — 2020
  • Reviewer · IEEE T-MRB
    Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics
    2026
  • Reviewer · Comput. Methods Programs Biomed.
    Invited Reviewer
    2026
  • Reviewer · Clinical Medical Insights
    Oncology · Invited Reviewer
    2025
§ 05  ·  Teaching & Talks

Mentorship, instruction, platforms.

Mentoring & Teaching

  • VISE Summer Fellow Mentor
    Mentee: Richie Dix · Vanderbilt
    2025
  • VISE Summer Fellow Mentor
    Mentee: Nathan Hammond · Vanderbilt
    2024
  • TA · Computational Analysis in BME
    University of Virginia
    Fall 2019
  • TA · Linear Algebra I
    University of Virginia
    Spring 2019
  • TA · Calculus III
    University of Virginia
    Fall 2018
  • TA · Quantitative Cell Biology
    Virginia Tech
    Fall 2017

Selected Talks

  • Surgical Navigation System for Liver Surgery Based on HoloLens 2
    Platform · SPIE Medical Imaging · IGPRM Conference
    Feb 2025
  • A Comprehensive MR Surgical Navigation System for Liver Surgery
    Live Demo · Nemertes Next Industry Conference · Nashville
    Apr 2025
  • Comparison Study of Intraoperative Surface Acquisition Methods
    Platform · SPIE Medical Imaging · IGPRM Conference
    Feb 2023
  • Comparison Study via Tracked Intraoperative Ultrasound
    VISE Research-in-Progress Seminar · Vanderbilt
    Aug 2022
  • Genetically-encoded acetylcholine & monoamine sensors
    Invited Speaker · CVCSN
    Apr 2019