Have you finished your master in bio/mechanical or mechatronics engineering and looking for a multidisciplinary job to further develop your skills and broaden your opportunities? Join the PneuARMM project.

PneuARMM is a consortium of Surgical Robotics Laboratory – University of Twente (UT), Medisch Spectrum Twente (MST) and PenuRobotics company. The project aims towards the next generation of MRI compatible, pneumatically actuated, surgical assistive robot for minimally invasive interventions of thorax. To build the next proof of concept prototype the consortium hires a junior researcher for the period of 12 month. The researcher will be employed at University of Twente, Faculty of Engineering Technology, Department of Biomechanical engineering, Surgical Robotics Laboratory (SRL).

Challenge
Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in adult population worldwide. It has by far the highest mortality rates, lowest life expectancy and lowest quality of life, among all terminal diseases. Evidence show that early detection is key to a successful therapeutic intervention, significantly increasing life expectancy and quality. Proper minimally invasive and targeted methods such as robotic assistance and image guidance can alleviate the problem to a high extent. Low dose CT and PET-CT imaging are the current gold standard for lung cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment planning. Nevertheless, frequent exposure to ionizing radiation can be a risk factor on its own. MRI on the other hand, is a safe imaging method with no known side effects. MRI guided assistive robotic systems can help radiologists to navigate the intervention without taking the patient out of the imaging bore for needle adjustments, while achieving a higher accuracy. This can significantly reduce radioactive exposure, damage due to try-and-error needle insertion, costs/time as well as growing the success rate of the operation.

Several MRI/CT compatible robotic systems have been developed for the last three decades, however a significant commercial success in medical practice is yet to be seen. Lack of proper actuation method has been one of the main hurdles of the field. Thanks to the PenuAct motors (goo.gl/9o2p6u) developed at UT-SRL now it is possible to actuate any mechanism inside the MRI/CT bore with no side effects for the imaging process or the patients. PneuAct motor is a completely disposable and parametrically designed pneumatic stepper motor.

• A master’s degree in mechanical engineering, mechatronics/electrical engineering, biomedical engineering, bio-mechanical engineering, or robotics with some experience in CAD/CAM
• Rapid manufacturing methods (e.g. 3D printing, laser cutting, CNC)
• Programming preferably Python and C/C++
• Fluid dynamics, CFD software (e.g., OpenFOAM)
• Microcontrollers preferably Arduino and Raspberry Pi development boards
• Pneumatics, optics, electronics

How to apply
You can send your application through the button below before 10th March 2019.
Please include the following documents in your application:

• Résumé (2 page) and/or Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Letter of motivation/Cover Letter

Applications including a portfolio (one page) of the activities you have done relevant to the project and a proposal (two pages in the format of scientific writing), describing what you can deliver during these 12 months, will be considered positively.

We offer a very challenging position in an inspiring environment, bridging academia and industry. During the appointment you will be interacting with various scientists and clinical people. The salary depends on your experience (max 3 years), length of the contract (max 12 month) and the weekly hours (max 38h per week). The total max salary will be maximum 31k€ (in the range of €2579, to € 2972 per month) in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities (NWO 1FTE Junior researcher). The University of Twente offers additional attractive employment conditions. In addition to this, we offer a holiday allowance (amounts to 8%), an end-of-year bonus (amounts to 8.3%), various sporting and cultural facilities at reduced rate, medical insurance at a reduced rate etc.

The University of Twente. We stand for life sciences and technology. High tech and human touch. Education and research that matter. New technology which leads change, innovation and progress in society. The University of Twente is the only campus university of the Netherlands; divided over five faculties we provide more than fifty educational programmes. We have a strong focus on personal development and talented researchers are given scope for carrying out groundbreaking research.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Because of our diversity values we do particularly support women to apply.

The Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET) is one of the five faculties of the University of Twente. ET combines Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Industrial Design Engineering. Our faculty has approximately 1800 bachelor and master students, 400 employees and 150 PhD candidates. The departments of the faculty cooperatively conduct the educational programmes and participate in interdisciplinary research projects, programmes and the research institutes: Mesa+ Institute, TechMed Centra and Digital Society Institute.