Are you fascinated by the application of electromagnetics to healthcare? Do you want to improve cancer treatment using advanced sensor technology? The SENS-THERM project has vacancies for highly motivated EngD students. You will work on techniques for sensing and controlling thermotherapy, using MRI temperature measurements to validate and improve these. You will use modelling and experimentation to validate your findings, leading to potential clinical trials and a certified medical device.

Job Description

In this project you will work on a project aimed at developing a reliable and simple quality assurance (QA) system for head and neck (H&N) thermotherapy (TT) applicators. The main objective of this project is to quantitatively control the power deposition and heating delivered to a patient during a TT treatment. To achieve this, the optimal sensor technology for instantaneous and dynamic 3D electric field measurements will be identified and integrated into patient anatomy mimicking setups. A user-friendly interface and workflow will be developed for wider adoption. To validate the device, a new measurement strategy based on MR thermometry will be implemented on the Erasmus MC. Therefore, while working on the electromagnetic sensing, there will be a close collaboration with the radiotherapy group of the Erasmus MC for validation. The close collaboration in this project with Sensius BV in Rotterdam ensures a timely commercial launch.

• A master's degree (or an equivalent university degree) in  in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics or equivalent, with excellent grades.
• A design-oriented attitude.
• Ability to work in a team and interested in collaborating with the industrial partners.
• Fluent in spoken and written English.
• Experience in, or affinity with,
• multiphysics and numerical modelling;
• microwave sensing technology using integrated circuit and optical techniques;
• Knowledge in tissue-mimicking phantoms;
• Solid coding skills, e.g. in Matlab, Python, or equivalent are an advantage.

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an international setting with a close relationship to industry. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:

• Full-time employment for two years.
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale TOIO  (€2,618).
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• To support you during your EngD and to prepare you for the rest of your career, you will have free access to a personal development program for EngD trainees.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) for international candidates.