PhD candidate 'Development of an integrated system for breast cancer imaging | focus point ultrasound'

Job description
Ultrasound and tomosynthesis are the most prevalent modalities used for breast imaging, and each has its specific advantages and disadvantages. Ultrasound uses sound waves to create a cross-sectional image of the tissue and has excellent depth resolution, but limited resolution in directions perpendicular to the transmitted ultrasound lines. Tomosynthesis uses x rays to create a pseudo-3D representation of the breast with high in-plane spatial resolution, but low out-of-plane (depth) resolution. Therefore, both techniques are complementary to each other.

We plan to develop a joint system that will use the information from each modality to improve the image quality of the other, yielding not only a multi-modality imaging system, but a joint imaging system. The combination of tomosynthesis and ultrasound into a single joint imaging system will yield improved images from two independent and complementary sources, with inherent spatial correlation, allowing for improved lesion detection, even in dense breasts, and the direct multi-modal assessment of suspicious lesions. For this multi-disciplinary project, we will be working in collaboration with the Advanced X-ray Tomography Imaging (AXTI) lab of our Department, who will be developing the X-ray aspects of this system (see accompanying vacancy).

In this project, you will focus on 3D ultrasound by using an ultra-wide ultrasound transducer that is mounted in a paddle required for acquisition of tomosynthesis data. In this way, a 3D ultrasound dataset can be acquired that can be used to improve the x-ray data by using the high-axial resolution US data. Additionally, the ultrasound data can be improved by using the high-resolution x-ray data. You will develop and validate these methods using both digital and physical phantoms, working towards first patient images at the end of the project. All of this will be in collaboration with a PhD student focusing on the x-ray aspects of the project, and industry partners to facilitate the translation of these methods into clinical evaluation. Tasks will also include presenting at international scientific conferences and writing papers on the newly developed methods and study results.

PhD candidate 'Development of an integrated system for breast cancer imaging | focus point X-ray'