The use of advanced imaging techniques for the diagnosis of prostate cancer has seen a steep rise. Due to a diagnostic pathway that includes pre-biopsy magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and targeted MR-guided biopsy, this is expected to even rapidly increase in the near future. The expected rise in the utilization of prostate MRI necessitates the use of quality control. Since imaging is one of the first steps in the prostate cancer pathway, poor quality imaging upfront can lead to downstream problems in the patient management. High quality imaging and acquisition protocols are therefore a prerequisite for radiologists that report prostate MR. Also, for AI systems, suboptimal image quality can have detrimental effects on the performance of meaningful algorithms. To prevent these problems, we want to develop a tool for the quality assurance and quality control. This tool will enable us to identify the factors that influence image quality and ideally also will provide a potential solution to optimize the quality.

The goal of this project is to develop, evaluate and validate AI applications for quality assurance and quality control of prostate cancer imaging. The Radboud university medical center collaborates with a third party for the development of such AI applications. Therefore, it is not a pre-requisite for the junior researcher to have AI development skills. However, programming skills can make the project more interesting, because you can more easily understand and assist in the developmental process.

The role of the junior researcher is to assist in the development and subsequent clinical evaluation/validation of quality assurance and quality control applications for prostate MR. This will entail formulating (subjective) criteria that influence the quality of MR images, development of objective (AI) criteria, and eventually clinically evaluation and validation of these criteria.

We are looking for an ambitious junior researcher to work on this project for 1,5 year, with the possibility to extend this period as a PhD student for 2,5 more years.

• MSc degree (or equivalent) in Technical Medicine.
• Strong interest in radiology and Artificial Intelligence.
• Excellent communication skills in English.
• Interest and capabilities to work in an interdisciplinary research team.

Fixed-term contract: 1,5 years with a possible extention as a PhD student.

You will be appointed as a junior researcher at the Radboud university medical center, Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, with the standard salary and secondary conditions for junior researchers in the Netherlands. You will work within the Radboud Institute for Health Sciences of the Radboudumc. Your performance will be evaluated after half a year and will normally be extended to 1 year.

We will offer the junior researcher a thorough supervision team by combining the medical expertise of the clinical research team (supervised by Professor Barentsz and Dr. Maarten de Rooij (MD/PhD) with the medical image analysis and AI knowledge of the DIAG (supervised by Doctor Huisman).

Upon commencement of employment we require a certificate of conduct (Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag, VOG) and there will be, depending on the type of job, a screening based on the provided cv. Radboud university medical center's HR Department will apply for this certificate on your behalf.

Read more about the Radboudumc employment conditions and what our International Office can do for you when moving to the Netherlands.

Radboudumc

The (pre-clinical) Digital Image Analysis Group (DIAG) and the (clinical) Prostate MRI Reference Center research groups of the Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine of the Radboud university medical center are world renowned and at the forefront of both AI and clinical use of advanced prostate imaging techniques.

Radboudumc
Radboud university medical center strives to be a leading developer of sustainable, innovative and affordable healthcare to improve the health and wellbeing of people and society in the Netherlands and beyond. This is the core of our mission: To have a significant impact on healthcare. To get a better picture of what this entails, check out our strategy.

Read more about what it means to work at Radboudumc and how you can do your part.