Three fully funded PhD positions are currently available in the field of soft tissue biomechanics and medical technologies at the School of Mechanical and Design Engineering of the University of Portsmouth (UK).

All of the three projects arise from a close and strong collaboration between the research group of Biomechanics and local and national hospitals. They all have a strong drive in clinical practice, from which the underlying research question originates.

The first project is aimed to predict the artero-venus fistula outcome/evolution in patients undergoing hemodialysis; the second project is aimed to provide an in vivo measurement of heart valves deformation; the third project is focused on improving clinical practice for lesion detection and diagnosis in gastroscopy.

Further details about the three projects are available online at:

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/in-silico-assessment-tool-for-reducing-the-risk-of-failure-of-arterio-venous-fistula-avf-in-patients-subjected-to-haemodialysis/?p115898

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/investigating-the-physiological-deformation-of-heart-valves-using-in-vivo-and-in-vitro-techniques/?p115894

and
https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/enhanced-endoscopic-screening-of-polyps-in-the-upper-gastrointestinal-tract/?p116271

Brilliant and ambitious students attracted by multidisciplinary subjects, interested in medical applications and strongly oriented to authentic teamworking are invited to apply.

The three positions are opened for UK/EEA applicants.

The deadline for the online application is Friday 23rd 2020. 

Project Description

Project team: Dr Katharine Fraser (k.h.fraser@bath.ac.uk) & Dr Andrew Cookson (a.n.cookson@bath.ac.uk)

Project
Over 500,000 people in the UK suffer from heart failure, with 14,000 admitted to hospital each year and 10,000 deaths. Worldwide, 26 million have heart failure, with a predicted increase of at least 46 % by 2030. The health expenditure on heart failure in the US alone is $31 billion. For patients with severe end-stage heart failure the only hope of long term survival is a heart transplant. However, donor hearts are scarce, resulting in fewer than 200 heart transplants/year in the UK. Alternative treatments are urgently needed to keep patients alive until a donor heart can be found. One alternative is a Total Artificial Heart (TAH): a machine to completely replace the native heart. Unfortunately, the only TAH on the market suffers from several issues.

Scandinavian Real Heart AB are developing a TAH with a completely novel pumping concept based on displacement of a piston and valve. It is hypothesized that the use of positive displacement, rather than rotation, has major advantages for physiological compatibility. This project will then investigate the interactions between the mechanical device and the native cardiovascular system, with the overall aim of assessing the biocompatibility of the device to aid design optimisation and regulatory approval. Specifically, the aims are to quantify the level of blood damage caused by the TAH, and find the effect of pulse wave it generates on the human arterial system.

The research will involve:
• the use of computational fluid dynamics to simulate blood flow within the Real Heart
• the development of numerical models for damage to the different blood cells
• the use of mathematical modelling to investigate pulse waves in the arteries
There is also the opportunity to perform experimental validation of the numerical results.

Through this PhD the student will become an expert in computational and mathematical modelling of fluid flows, including commercial and opensource software, and in-house code development. By working with Real Heart the student will develop teamwork and communication skills; to strengthen these the student will be based with the company in Sweden for 3 months. The University’s DoctoralSkills training includes a wide range of transferable skills courses. The student will write high impact journal papers and present at leading international conferences. Healthcare technology and biomedical devices are rapidly growing industries; a PhD in this area would equip the student with sought after skills and qualify them for a range of opportunities.

This project is an outstanding opportunity to help bring the next generation of mechanical heart pumps to the clinic. In addition, the research will contribute to fundamental science in incompressible fluid mechanics, blood trauma, and arterial dynamics, and develop new simulation techniques to advance the field of mechanical circulatory support development.

Candidate:
The successful applicant will ideally have graduated (or be due to graduate) with an undergraduate Masters first class degree or very good 2:1 or MSc distinction (or equivalent). English language requirements must be met at the time of application to be considered for funding.

More Details:

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/multiscale-analysis-of-the-interactions-between-a-novel-total-artificial-heart-and-the-native-cardiovascular-system/?p110261

Application:
Formal applications should be made via the University of Bath’s online application form for a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Please ensure that you state the full project title and lead supervisor name on the application form.

https://samis.bath.ac.uk/urd/sits.urd/run/siw_ipp_lgn.login?process=siw_ipp_app&code1=RDUME-FP01&code2=0014

A full application must be submitted by the application deadline, including all supporting documents, to enable review.

More information about applying for a PhD at Bath may be found here:

http://www.bath.ac.uk/guides/how-to-apply-for-doctoral-study/

Anticipated start date: Monday 30 March 2020

Funding Notes

Funding is for up to three and a half years. It includes UK/EU tuition fees, training support fee of £1,000 per annum and a Maintenance stipend of £15,009 per annum (2019/0 rate). EU students are eligible to apply if they have been resident in the UK for 3 years prior to the funding commencing.

 As of April 1, 2020 we are looking for a  Research Assistant (PreDoc, m/f/d)  to strengthen our team at the Institute for Biomechanics  initially limited to 3 years. 

Your duties: 

 Collaboration in the research project “Population variability in orthopaedic bio-mechanics”. The aim is to develop and mechanically characterize materials that serve as synthetic bones for the development and validation of new implants. The methodological focus is on biomechanical testing, medical imaging and finite element analysis. 

 Preparation of and participation in scientific reports and publications 

 Presentation of research results at scientific events at home and abroad 

 Submission of research proposals, participation in externally funded projects 

 Cooperation in teaching and supervision of interns 

Your profile: 

 A completed diploma or master’s degree in biomedical engineering, medical technology, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, technical physics, materials science or equivalent studies in Germany or abroad 

 Craftsmanship and pleasure in manual laboratory work 

 Basic experience in scientific work 

 Programming experience and affinity to statistical analysis methods 

 Strong communication skills and very good knowledge of German and English, both written and spoken 

 Reliability, an independent way of working and pleasure in participating in in-ter-disciplinary teams 

Our offer: 

 A modern working environment with varied activities in a constantly growing clinic with excellent infrastructure and equipment 

 A comprehensive and structured induction training with regulated procedures 

 Further education and development opportunities (e.g. a doctorate at the PMU Salzburg) 

 Support of a work-life balance through flexible working hours and at least 30 days of vacation 

 Attractive remuneration according to TV-BG Kliniken as well as additional social benefits and employee benefits in the region 

The inclusion of people with disabilities corresponds to our self-image and we therefore welcome your application. 

Please send your application with a letter of motivation, curriculum vitae and certificates to the Institute of Biomechanics at the BG Unfallklinik Murnau, Prof.-Küntscher-Str. 8, 82418 Murnau or by e-mail to biomechanik@bgu-murnau.de or via our career portal (www.bgu-murnau.de). We are looking forward to meeting you! 

The ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research is the University of Bern´s transdisciplinary Center of Excellence for medical technology research. Its mission is to tackle unmet clinical needs and envision future challenge in diagnosis, monitoring and treatment to create viable healthcare technology solutions with imagination, agility and purpose. Its projects run from discovery and basic research to clinical translation. 

The Computational Bioengineering Group has opened a Ph.D. Student position in machine learning to evaluate the risks of failure of total shoulder arthroplasty. You will develop machine learning algorithms to better understand the biomechanics of shoulder replacements and improve patients’ care. You will be part of an inter-disciplinary project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (www.snf.ch) performed in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute for Technology (www.epfl.ch), and the Lausanne University Hospital (www.chuv.ch). 

You will integrate a research group that develops experimental and computational methods in biomechanics to test original scientific hypotheses, develops new diagnostic methods, and medical devices. 

Your tasks 

– Develop algorithms to analyze medical image and generate patient-specific finite element models 

– Quantify anatomical degeneration of the hard and soft tissues of patients undergoing total shoulder replacement 

– Infer the pre-morbid anatomy of degenerated shoulder joints 

– Determine the optimal treatment strategy from pre-operative data and population-based finite element simulations 

Qualifications required 

– Master’s degree in computer science, engineering, or applied mathematics. 

– Experience and/or course work in computer vision and machine learning 

– Solid programming skills in Python or C/C++/C# 

– Background in mechanics and computational methods 

– Hands-on experience with finite element analysis would be a distinctive asset 

– Strong communication skills in English required (working language at the ARTORG Center) 

We offer 

– Creative and international environment to conduct competitive research in an interdisciplinary team 

– Strong links to the Bern University Hospital (Inselspital) and Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) to provide a coherent view of how computer modeling in healthcare can benefit patients 

– Competitive salary (according to the guidelines of the Swiss National Science Foundation) 

– Expected starting date; summer 2020 

– Free German courses available for those wishing to learn 

Application Interested candidates should send their detailed resumes with references, motivation letter, abstract of your MSc thesis, and school transcripts to Prof. Philippe Büchler, philippe.buechler@artorg.unibe.ch. 

About the University of Bern The University of Bern is located at the heart of Switzerland. Internationally connected and regionally anchored, it cultivates exchange with society and strengthens partnerships between science, medicine, business, and politics. The University of Bern is committed to a deliberate and ethical responsibility towards people, animate and inanimate nature. As an important educator, promoting enterprise and industry in the region and beyond, it distinguishes itself through problem-oriented research into questions of pressing social relevance. The University of Bern is an equal opportunity employer, promotes healthy work-life-balance and safe working environments, and strives to increase the number of women at all levels in its faculties. 

STRAIN MEASUREMENT IN SOFT TISSUES AND BIOMATERIALS USING HIGH-RESOLUTION X-RAY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY (XCT) AND DIGITAL VOLUME CORRELATION (DVC)

Closing date: 23 February 2020

Applications are invited for a fully-funded 3-year PhD to commence in October 2020. 

The PhD will be based in the School of Mechanical and Design Engineering, Faculty of Technology and will be supervised by Dr Gianluca Tozzi, Dr John Chiverton and Professor Gordon Blunn. 

This PhD studentship is one of six PhD studentships funded by the University of Portsmouth in the area of biomaterials and bioengineering.  These studentships  will support the University’s strategic plan engaging with clinicians working in Portsmouth Hospital Trust to solve real-life medical problems.   The successful applicants would be part of a cross-faculty research cluster in medical technologies.

This programme of research involves several Schools based in the Faculty of Science and Health and the Faculty of Technology.  The vision of the cluster is to train a cohort of PhD students who contribute to the academic environment, some of whom would be expected to develop academic careers in this expanding area whilst others would be employed in the growing international medical technologies industry. 

Training would be enhanced by extended visits to other institutions involved in similar research and by visits to hospitals to meet with clinicians involved in the research projects.

The scholarship covers tuition fees and an annual maintenance grant of £15,009 (UKRI 2019/20 rate) for three years.  Scholarship recipients will also receive up to £3,000 for research project costs/consumables during the duration of the programme.

The work on this project will involve:

• Advances in X-ray computed tomography (XCT) to visualise and quantify morphology in musculoskeletal soft tissues and biomaterials.  
• In situ XCT mechanical testing and digital volume correlation (DVC) to evaluate full-field strain distribution in soft tissues and biomaterials when incremental physiological loading is applied. 

Musculoskeletal disorders (i.e. osteoarthritis – OA and post-traumatic osteoarthritis – PTOA) have a huge impact on society. In particular, those conditions affect soft tissues such as articular cartilage deterioration and ligament/tendon injury, where the need of understanding their morphology and mechanics is of paramount importance to design new biomaterials and treatments.

High-resolution X-ray computed tomography (XCT) offers accurate resolution to visualise and quantify morphology in mineralised tissues such as bone. XCT setups are typically limited to bone tissue imaging due to weak absorption of soft tissues (i.e. cartilage, ligaments). Therefore, they are very difficult to image with sufficient contrast. This project will provide fundamental advances in XCT-based imaging of soft tissues such as ligaments, cartilage and 3D printed or electrospun tissue replacements.

The project will benefit from state-of-the-art XCT facilities and dedicated software available at the Zeiss Global Centre (ZGC, SMDE, UoP), which will provide unique phase-contrast/retrieval capability and in situ mechanical rigs to image and mechanically evaluate soft materials, without the need of elaborated staining procedures.

The project will play a strategic role in the development of imaging technology at the ZGC, and help the centre to retain its national and international reputation in the evaluation of biological tissues and biomaterials (i.e. DVC) for Bioengineering. 

How to apply

We’d encourage you to contact Dr  Gianluca Tozzi at gianluca.tozzi@port.ac.uk to discuss your interest before you apply, quoting the project code.

When you are ready to apply, you can use our online application form. Make sure you submit a personal statement, proof of your degrees and grades, details of two referees, proof of your English language proficiency and an up-to-date CV. 

Our ‘How to Apply’ page offers further guidance on the PhD application process. 

If you want to be considered for this funded PhD opportunity you must quote the project code SMDE5070120 when applying.

More info: https://www.port.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/postgraduate-research/research-degrees/phd/explore-our-projects/strain-measurement-in-soft-tissues-and-biomaterials