Mila Nikolic from Kumanovo is the youngest software engineer in robotics in the Israeli company, which is working on developing a navigation system for planning spinal surgical procedures with the help of artificial intelligence.
The internship announcement was made by a professor in the subject group I was listening to. A startup company dealing with biomedical engineering was looking for an intern. I signed up. There I wrote my dissertation together with my teammates, about part of the system we are working on, machine learning. The aim of the paper was to automate the process of processing (segmentation) of any data or images from computed tomography. "After 6 months of internship and after defending my dissertation, I was offered to stay and work," she said. I work in the image processing department. Our task is to process the computed tomography images and get a 3D model of the spine. Our goal is to assist the surgeon while performing spinal surgery. Our system monitors the surgeon's instrument and directs him to the place where the intervention is planned. During operation, the 3D camera gives the current position to be adjusted with the 3D model, to match the shot and the 3D model, to find the correct planning position. The system itself offers great precision, even under 0.5 mm. Also, human exposure to ionizing radiation is reduced, as only one computed tomography scan is required. There is no need for the presence of a computed tomography device in the operating room, and thus there is no need for several recordings during the operation. "The health benefits of this system are great," Nikolic explained.
She believes that doctors should not be afraid that the rapid development of artificial intelligence will jeopardize their jobs, because robots take mechanical work from their hands, not the essential.
"Specifically in medicine, the robot still does not decide anything on its own. Robots today have taken over mechanical work from the professions, all in order to reduce the duration and increase the efficiency of any process. The development of artificial intelligence is going quite fast and in the direction of benefiting man. However, man programs the robot, develops artificial intelligence, and I think he has control over the direction in which he develops. We are aware that when the first phone came out, no one expected that he would be our assistant in a few years. "Mankind is afraid of everything that is unknown and unclear to him, and that is fine," explains Mila.
Although her work may seem complicated, her dream and goal are simple - to do something good for humanity. She says people react in surprise when she tells them what works. They see her work as science fiction and are fascinated by the fact that something like this is being created right here and that it is part of it.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic crisis at the moment she works from home, working online in her profession is not a problem. He has been working in the company that has a representative office in Skopje since March this year.
Mila says that in order to succeed in life, the most important thing is to know what you want, because everything can be achieved if a person believes in himself. She is very satisfied and proud of herself, and especially grateful to the team with which they study together.
I found a job that I did not believe existed in our country and I learn from the best. I am grateful for everything I have at the moment and I am excited for everything that is coming. The team I work with has 7 members, we all work on the development of the system. We are also looking for experienced engineers to work with us. In Israel they are CEO, CTO and project manager, we also have doctors from several countries with whom we consult on development and study together. Personally, I plan to enroll in a master's degree, but for now I do not know if it will be here or abroad. When you build something from scratch it can be hard, but on the other hand you have the freedom to show your knowledge. I have no information whether we have competition here, but I know for sure that every competition is an incentive to continue to upgrade. Many more experiences and many more knowledge await me. And for the success so far, I think the recipe is perseverance, consistency, patience, faith ", adds this young girl, who considers the current success only as her beginning in the professional upgrade.
Bravo za mladata devojka. Da rabotes vo takva firma i so takov tim navistina e golem predizvik, a pred se privilegija. Se nadevam deka kje uspee da ja ispolni svojata zelba i da napravi mnogu za covestvoto. Samo napred.