PhD candidate 'Evaluation and Optimization of Photon-Counting CT for Advanced Chest Imaging'

• Nijmegen

Recent developments in photon-counting CT (PCCT) technology offer new opportunities to improve the diagnostic quality of chest imaging. With its ability to provide ultra-high-resolution (UHR) images and spectral information PCCT has the potential to enhance the assessment of pulmonary and vascular diseases. However the added clinical value of this technology in routine practice remains to be fully explored.

In this 4-year PhD project we aim to investigate and establish the clinical potential of PCCT for chest imaging. The project will focus on identifying relevant clinical applications exploring promising patient populations and testing initial hypotheses regarding the added value of spectral imaging and super-high-resolution (SHR) imaging. The outcomes of this feasibility phase will guide the development of future large-scale clinical studies.

The project will be conducted as a team effort in close collaboration with researchers within the department and clinicians involved in chest imaging and clinical research. This multidisciplinary setting ensures strong integration of technical developments with clinically relevant research questions.

Tasks will include:

• Designing and conducting feasibility studies including study design and protocol development for chest imaging using PCCT.
• Collaborating with clinicians to identify and recruit suitable patient populations.
• Analyzing and interpreting imaging and clinical data including quantitative and AI-based approaches.
• Collecting and integrating non-radiological (clinical) data for comprehensive analysis.
• Optimizing imaging protocols and scanner workflow.
• Contributing to ethics applications and study preparation for follow-up research.
• Presenting findings at scientific meetings and preparing scientific publications.

This project offers a unique opportunity to work at the forefront of advanced CT imaging technology in close collaboration with clinical and technical experts and to help shape the future direction of chest imaging research.

The position is based at Radboudumc within the department of Medical Imaging and embedded in the Advanced X-ray Tomographic Imaging (AXTI) laboratory.

AXTI focuses on the development optimization and clinical evaluation of new x-ray-based imaging methods. The lab focuses on the use of medical physics approaches to improve image acquisition methods and processing algorithms and to evaluate the clinical performance of new technology in new clinical applications. The group counts with wide-ranging expertise in image acquisition and processing reconstruction and analysis as well as observer studies screening radiation dosimetry along with the design and performance of patient trials.

You will work in a well-equipped research environment with access to advanced CT technology and close collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of clinicians including pulmonologists internists pathologists thoracic surgeons and anatomists.

The project also involves hands-on work at the CT scanner in collaboration with specialized radiographers and CT technologists involved in photon-counting CT development.