EngD on electromagnetics (EM) measurements in thermotherapy

The project is a consortium of a research institute (TU/e), an academic hospital (Erasmus MC, Rotterdam) and a company (Sensius Thermotherapy) that aims to facilitate the widespread adoption of thermotherapy by developing a comprehensive quality assurance program to control real-time dosimetry. Clinical studies showed that thermotherapy, heating of tumors to 40-44˚C, significantly enhances the therapeutic efficacy of radiotherapy and chemotherapy without adding side effects. Recently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guided thermotherapy was developed for monitoring temperature, but this approach is too expensive for broad application in general hospitals. RADIATHE will develop tightly controlled thermotherapy using advanced electromagnetic sensing and validate it using MRI based thermometry. In this way, controlled treatment can be delivered to a large group of cancer patients, for improving cure and/or decreasing toxicity without the need for MRI.

Tasks for the EngD in the project

In this project, you will work on a project aimed at developing a reliable 'push-button' quality assurance system for head and neck thermotherapy applicators. The main objective of this project is to quantitatively control the power deposition and heating delivered to a patient during a thermotherapy treatment. To achieve the goals, we will determine the optimal sensor technology for instant and dynamic 3D electric field measurements and integrate the sensing technology into patient anatomy mimicking setups. A user-friendly interface and fast workflow will be developed for wider adoption. To validate the device, a new measurement strategy will be implemented at Erasmus MC based on MR thermometry. Hence, while you will work on the electromagnetic sensing, there will be a close cooperation with the Radiotherapy group of Erasmus MC for validation. You will be partly based at Sensius BV in Rotterdam since this connection ensures timely commercial uptake.