Inverse modeling of Cardiac ARrhythmia sources based on UltraSound imaging (ICARUS)

(ref. BAP-2022-562)

Laatst aangepast : 19/07/2022

Technical aspects of this project will be followed-up by Prof. D’hooge and Dr. Marcus Ingram of the Lab on Cardiovascular Imaging & Dynamics of the department of Cardiovascular Sciences of the University of Leuven (www.kuleuven.be). Daily activities will take place in the Medical Imaging Research Center, a multi-disciplinary research institute where around 100 researchers work on fundamental and translational research in the area of medical imaging and image processing. You will be interacting with other students that work on the ICARUS project as well as with students working on similar projects within the lab. Cardiac arrhythmias are a leading cause of death worldwide. Although different heart rhythm disorders can be recognized using the electrocardiogram, the precise three-dimensional spatiotemporal organization of cardiac activation patterns inside the heart during certain arrhythmia types is not well understood. Commonly, invasive catheter recordings are needed to record electrograms that hint at the location of abnormal sources or re-entrant activity. However, it has recently been demonstrated that the electrical vortices in the heart driving the rhythm disorders can be reconstructed from mathematical analysis of the mechanical deformation in ultrasound (US) images. This PhD position fits in a larger project (ICARUS) that gathers experts at KU Leuven in ultrasound imaging, cardiac modelling and cardiology to bring this technology to clinical applications. Hereto, we will (a) lift US acquisition methods using state-of-art technology available at KU Leuven; (b) develop and perform inverse electromechanical modelling to reconstruct electromechanical activation sequences in the heart; (c) use this technology on patients to create personalized computer models (3D+time) and use the in silico reconstructions of spatiotemporal cardiac activation to optimize treatment (e.g. ablation, resynchronisation, pharmaceutics). ICARUS is an internally funded KU Leuven project that aims to perform clinical translation of this non-invasive approach towards cardiac arrhythmia imaging.

Project

This PhD position ambitions to develop original signal / image processing methodologies in order to automatically extract relevant biomarkers from the volumetric, high frame rate,ultrasound recordings. Hereto, pre- and postprocessing of the ultrasound data will be required. The methodologies developed will be experimentally validated using synthetic data as well as experimental recordings in mock model setups. Hereto,the student will modify and refine the mock model setups in a relevant manner. The PhD candidate will work in close collaboration with a colleague PhD student focusing on the development of adequate imaging sequences allowing for 3D imaging of the heart and with PhD students focusing on inverse modeling and clinical application of the proposed methodology.

Profile

You have a Master degree in mathematics, physics, engineering or related field
You are preferably familiar with signal / image processing methodologies
You have good programming skills (being acquainted with MATLAB and/or C++/CUDA is a plus)
Having knowledge of ultrasound image formation and its applications is a plus
You are fluent in oral and written English
You are enthusiastic and result oriented
You are a team player and communicate well

Offer

We offer a 4-year PhD position with market conform wages in a large, multidisciplinary research center in the heart of Europe. The position is immediately available.

Interested?

Please send your CV, motivation letter and 2 recommendation letters to Dr. Marcus Ingram ([email protected]).

KU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us at [email protected].