PhD Opportunity: Photoacoustic/Ultrasound Imaging for improved prostate cancer diagnosis

Transrectal Ultrasound (TRUS)-guided biopsy is currently the gold standard for prostate cancer detection. However it has two problems: 1) the potential for missing clinically significant disease, leading to delayed diagnosis of aggressive cancer, and 2) the detection of clinically insignificant cancer, resulting in over-diagnosis and over-treatment.

The Opportunity:
TRUS can be improved using photoacoustic imaging—a breakthrough technology that enables imaging of blood vessels and can potentially provide missing functional imaging, which can identify malignant regions in the prostate. A hybrid implementation of TRUS with photoacoustics can potentially change the paradigm of prostate cancer diagnosis.

There are significant strides to be made in the technology before the most optimal implementation can be realized. Important aspects to be worked on studying imaging depth, image quality, reduction of artifacts and improve the ability to characterize tissues accurately.

You have a Master´s degree in Biomedical Engineering or Applied Physics. Excellent fundamentals in imaging methods is required. Experience with biomedical device design and imaging methods especially ultrasound or photoacoustics is desirable. The research is largely experimental. The favored candidate is passionate and determined to learn, create, and discover, with a keen sense of curiosity. Your enthusiasm for pushing boundaries will play a pivotal role in our collaborative efforts. We expect the candidate to have excellent command of the English language as well as professional communication and team working skills.

You will be a PhD student in the project PeTRUS The position is embedded in the Multi-Modality Medical Imaging group within the strong photoacoustic-ultrasound community at the University of Twente (UT). Within the project you will have the unique chance to be part of a larger team comprising AI experts at the UT, clinicians from the Ziekenhuis Group Twente (ZGT), and industry leaders in photoacoustic-ultrasound technology Seno Medical Instruments. You will have the opportunity to engage with a PhD student and Post-doc at the UT, radiologists at the ZGT, and engineers at Seno to exchange ideas, insights, and expertise that pave the way for creation, discovery and advancement.