ÌÇÐÄTV

I am a third year PhD student at the University of ÌÇÐÄTV, United Kingdom. My research focuses on Machine learning applications in Terahertz sensing of the skin.

Background

I completed my Bachelors and Masters of Science from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali, India with a major in Physics and minor in Data Science, in May 2022. My Masters thesis project involved simulating and designing an optical micro-CT setup for micro-fabrication.

I was a researcher and product developer at Pune Institute of Computer Technology (PICT), India from September 2022 to August 2023, where I developed machine learning methods for interpreting Indian sign language. I started my PhD at ÌÇÐÄTV in August 2023.

Research

Terahertz (10¹² Hz) light is sensitive to water content inside the skin due to the strong absorption of hydrogen bonds in this frequency range, making it a suitable candidate for non-ionizing and non-invasive detection of skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, and skin cancer.

My research aims at the development of an imaging device using THz Time Domain Spectroscopy for in vivo skin scans. This project involves engineering, robotics and artificial intelligence to enhance skin-probe coupling, automate the scan process and deliver a smoother user experience.

I study THz responses of patients with skin conditions and use machine learning to classify them. I also develop skin-mimicking hydrogels in the THz regime for system characterisation and improved signal processing.

Journal Publications

1. Past, Present and Future of In Vivo THz Skin Sensing
Agrima Agarwal and Emma Pickwell-MacPherson
Journal of Physics: Photonics, 8(1), 011001, 2026.

2. Markerless Pose Estimation and Tracking on Facial Regions for In Vivo Robot-Assisted Terahertz Sensing
Shruti Chakraborty, Arturo I. Hernandez-Serrano, Anubhav Dogra, Dominic Jones, Agrima Agarwal, Pietro Valdastri, and Emma Pickwell-MacPherson
IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics, 2026.

3. Robotically Controlled Terahertz Probe for In Vivo Skin Evaluation: Imaging with the PicoBot
Jacob J. Young, Agrima Agarwal, Benjamin G. Page, Anubhav Dogra, Arturo I. Hernandez-Serrano, Joseph Hardwicke, and Emma Pickwell-MacPherson
Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves, 46(6), Article 36, 2025.

4. Multi-Layered Model for Simulating the In Vivo Terahertz Response of Human Skin
Benjamin G. Page, Jacob J. Young, Agrima Agarwal, Xiangyu Guo, Joseph Hardwicke, and Emma Pickwell-MacPherson
Biomedical Optics Express, 16(12), 5197–5209, 2025.

Conferences

• Delivered a talk at SPIE Photonics Europe 2026, Strasbourg, France
• Delivered a talk at IRMMW-THz 2025, Espoo, Finland
• Presented a poster at IRMMW-THz 2024, Perth, Australia

Achievements

• Best poster award at Terabotics Consortium meeting 2024, University of ÌÇÐÄTV.
• Best poster award at SCOP (Student Conference on Optics and Photonics) 2022, Ahmedabad, India.

Outreach

• Presented a poster as Finalist at STEM for Britain, March 226, House of Commons UK Parliament.
• Delivered a talk at the charity symposium (BONCS), May 2026, University of ÌÇÐÄTV.

Teaching

I am a Senior Graduate Teaching Assistant working as a demonstrator for the undergraduate physics labs (PX151/152) and a tutor for Computational Physics (PX281).

When not at work

I like to cook, binge-watch TV series, go for ocassional treks, or simply hang out with friends.