PhD candidate “Ultrasonic magnetic gradient coil design for silent and fast MRI of the future”

Acoustic sound is one of the main causes of discomfort patients experience during an MRI examination resulting in restlessness (movement) and thus degraded MRI images. In addition, long scan times and the high demand for MRI pose problems for the longevity of MRI in its current form. This project offers a unique opportunity to make MRI substantially faster, quantitative and quiet. The intended engineering and computational MRI innovations will be designed and developed together with four industrial partners.

In the project, a gradient coil will be designed for the spatial encoding of the MRI signals that can switch very quickly, namely at frequencies outside the human hearing limit. A prototype ultrasonic coil has already been developed for MRI of the head. In this project, the step to the whole body MRI will be made in which the application of non-linear gradient fields will be investigated. This non-linear encoding will be integrated into a revolutionary MRI acquisition and reconstruction platform (MR-STAT), previously developed at the UMC Utrecht.

Your role will be the design, development and testing of the ultrasonic coil, based on electromagnetic, mechanical and biophysical simulations. It is a very diverse project in which you will learn both technical and experimental skills. All this will take place within a diverse team where engineers, mathematicians and physicists work closely together. This project is funded by the NWO Applied and Engineering Sciences (AES) Open Technology Programme.