Postdoc Advanced Ultrasound Arrays Technology at TU Delft

Are you an ultrasound engineer willing to tackle the major challenges in industrial monitoring and medical care? We are looking for creative minds who will develop the sensor technology of the future.

Job description

You will play a key role in several research projects that will provide ground-breaking technological advances based on ultrasound transducer arrays. At the Imaging Physics Department, Faculty of Applied Sciences, we develop innovative measurement concepts for medical imaging&therapy, as well as for industrial flow sensing. As a postdoc researcher, you will contribute to these developments.

On the one side, ultrasonic flow meters are key instruments for measuring fluid flow in industries ranging from oil & gas and food processing to semiconductor manufacturing and water management. While clamp-on ultrasonic flow meters are attractive due to their non-invasive installation, traditional single-element designs suffer from limitations in accuracy, stability, and flexibility. As we have demonstrated in prior research, matrix ultrasonic transducers in combination with advanced measurement techniques can overcome these limitations. Leveraging these earlier-developed flow sensing concepts, you will develop a unique self-calibrating clamp-on flow meter and realize a full-scale prototype at our facilities.

On the other side, medical ultrasound is facing a revolution from a simple diagnostic tool, towards functional imaging and even therapeutic application of ultrasound. Evidence is growing that ultrasound, in combination with injectable bloodpool agents, has a therapeutic effect on tumours and tissue. However, the current ultrasound probes are not up to that combined job, nor can they provide the necessary feedback on efficacy. You will develop a uniquely-combined ultrasound-based hybrid therapeutic and diagnostic probe for the localization and treatment of head&neck cancer.

Together with our PhDs, technicians and supervisors, you will build several prototypes of both of these ultrasound devices, connect the electronics, perform the experiments, and further develop the data pre-processing and data-interpretation techniques. This will require the use of wave physics, numerical simulations, experimental laboratory work, and clever reviewing and interpretation of the measurement data. Your devices will not aim for high-resolution imaging, but will have the unique aspect of being able to select and continuously record good-quality data that enables novel autonomous data interpretation techniques. How to select and process the useful data is part of the intellectual challenge that you will address with your supervisors, fellow technical-clinical researchers, clinicians, and industry collaborators.

The project involves technical development at the department of ImPhys, faculty of Applied Sciences, in very close colaboration with the Microelectronics Department of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, and in close collaboration with Twente University and industry partners. You will work within a challenging and diverse overlapping area of biomedical research, non-destructive evaluation, acoustical and electrical engineering, patient care, and commercial exploitation. Your academic training will be oriented towards both your hard and soft skills, and involves learning-on-the-job, including contributing to the group’s educational activities. The scientific aims of your job are to develop innovative technology, publish the results, and translate the concepts into functional prototypes.