PhD Photon-counting X-ray and gamma-ray detectors for medical imaging

As a PhD candidate at TU Delft, you will develop a new type of radiation detector that opens up new possibilities for the image-guided treatment of cancer.

C-arm X-ray imaging is the dominant imaging modality in interventional procedures. Unfortunately, C-arms lack the rich information provided by diagnostic hybrid scanners such as PET/CT and SPECT/CT, which hinders image-guided interventions from becoming more efficient and effective. As a PhD student within the section Medical Physics & Technology of TU Delft (www.rst.tudelft.nl/mpt), you will develop a novel detector technology that uses new scintillation materials, solid-state light sensing technology, high-bandwidth readout electronics, and real-time signal processing. These new detectors will enable the simultaneous detection of X-ray and gamma-ray photons, opening up the possibility of developing C-arms with combined X-ray and nuclear imaging capability.

MPT's mission is to develop better technologies for the personalized diagnosis and treatment of disease, focusing on radiation-based approaches in medical imaging, radiation oncology, and image-guided interventions. We execute this project as a partner in the IMAGIO consortium, which recently secured funding from the EU Innovative Health Initiative to develop novel imaging and advanced guidance solutions in interventional oncology.

Your PhD project will be carried out in collaboration with industrial and clinical partners, including Philips and UMC Utrecht. Your research work will entail a mix of theoretical modelling and experimentation and is expected to result in detector prototypes that can be tested under clinically representative conditions. This project gives you the opportunity to contribute to the development of an innovative detector technology that can be integrated into existing infrastructure and used in a wide range of clinical applications. 

We are looking for enthusiastic and creative young scientists who are motivated to push the limits in medical imaging instrumentation. You will be based at the section Medical Physics and Technology (MP&T) at the Radiation Science & Technology (RST) department of the Faculty of Applied Sciences of Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and work closely together with colleagues from the industrial and clinical partners involved in the IMAGIO project.

Applicants must have an MSc in Physics, Applied Physics, or similar discipline. We are looking for candidates with affinity for experimental physics, instrumentation development, data acquisition, and signal processing. Experience in topics directly relevant to the project, such as ionizing radiation physics, radiation detection technology, analog and digital electronics, etc., is a plus.

Good communication skills and excellent English are required. You should possess a pro-active, independent, problem-solving, and result-oriented work attitude. Successful candidates are expected to publish their results in peer-reviewed scientific journals, actively participate in international conferences, and write a PhD thesis. 

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements .

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2541 per month in the first year to € 3247 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged. For international applicants we offer the Coming to Delft Service and Partner Career Advice to assist you with your relocation.

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

With more than 1,000 employees, including 135 pioneering principal investigators, as well as a population of about 3,400 passionate students, the Faculty of Applied Sciences is an inspiring scientific ecosystem. Focusing on key enabling technologies, such as quantum- and nanotechnology, photonics, biotechnology, synthetic biology and materials for energy storage and conversion, our faculty aims to provide solutions to important problems of the 21st century. To that end, we train students in broad Bachelor's and specialist Master's programmes with a strong research component. Our scientists conduct ground-breaking fundamental and applied research in the fields of Life and Health Science & Technology, Nanoscience, Chemical Engineering, Radiation Science & Technology, and Engineering Physics. We are also training the next generation of high school teachers and science communicators.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Applied Sciences.

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. Dennis R. Schaart, Head of Medical Physics & Technology, TU Delft ([email protected]).  

For information about the application procedure, please contact Mrs Anouk Nieuwesteeg ([email protected])     

Are you interested in this vacancy? 

To apply, please submit a letter of application, a detailed CV, transcripts of diplomas, and names and contact details of references before 6 February 2023. Foreign applicants are asked to provide their TOEFL iBT or IELTS test scores.   

• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• Applying for an exemption for specific research and educational areas is an obligatory part of the selection procedure for this vacancy. This exemption must be obtained from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) before an employment contract is agreed upon. Click here for more information.
• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• Acquisition in response to this vacancy is not appreciated.

As a PhD candidate at TU Delft, you will develop a new type of radiation detector that opens up new possibilities for the image-guided treatment of cancer.

C-arm X-ray imaging is the dominant imaging modality in interventional procedures. Unfortunately, C-arms lack the rich information provided by diagnostic hybrid scanners such as PET/CT and SPECT/CT, which hinders image-guided interventions from becoming more efficient and effective. As a PhD student within the section Medical Physics & Technology of TU Delft (www.rst.tudelft.nl/mpt), you will develop a novel detector technology that uses new scintillation materials, solid-state light sensing technology, high-bandwidth readout electronics, and real-time signal processing. These new detectors will enable the simultaneous detection of X-ray and gamma-ray photons, opening up the possibility of developing C-arms with combined X-ray and nuclear imaging capability.

MPT's mission is to develop better technologies for the personalized diagnosis and treatment of disease, focusing on radiation-based approaches in medical imaging, radiation oncology, and image-guided interventions. We execute this project as a partner in the IMAGIO consortium, which recently secured funding from the EU Innovative Health Initiative to develop novel imaging and advanced guidance solutions in interventional oncology.

Your PhD project will be carried out in collaboration with industrial and clinical partners, including Philips and UMC Utrecht. Your research work will entail a mix of theoretical modelling and experimentation and is expected to result in detector prototypes that can be tested under clinically representative conditions. This project gives you the opportunity to contribute to the development of an innovative detector technology that can be integrated into existing infrastructure and used in a wide range of clinical applications. 

We are looking for enthusiastic and creative young scientists who are motivated to push the limits in medical imaging instrumentation. You will be based at the section Medical Physics and Technology (MP&T) at the Radiation Science & Technology (RST) department of the Faculty of Applied Sciences of Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and work closely together with colleagues from the industrial and clinical partners involved in the IMAGIO project.

Applicants must have an MSc in Physics, Applied Physics, or similar discipline. We are looking for candidates with affinity for experimental physics, instrumentation development, data acquisition, and signal processing. Experience in topics directly relevant to the project, such as ionizing radiation physics, radiation detection technology, analog and digital electronics, etc., is a plus.

Good communication skills and excellent English are required. You should possess a pro-active, independent, problem-solving, and result-oriented work attitude. Successful candidates are expected to publish their results in peer-reviewed scientific journals, actively participate in international conferences, and write a PhD thesis. 

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements .

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2541 per month in the first year to € 3247 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged. For international applicants we offer the Coming to Delft Service and Partner Career Advice to assist you with your relocation.

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

With more than 1,000 employees, including 135 pioneering principal investigators, as well as a population of about 3,400 passionate students, the Faculty of Applied Sciences is an inspiring scientific ecosystem. Focusing on key enabling technologies, such as quantum- and nanotechnology, photonics, biotechnology, synthetic biology and materials for energy storage and conversion, our faculty aims to provide solutions to important problems of the 21st century. To that end, we train students in broad Bachelor's and specialist Master's programmes with a strong research component. Our scientists conduct ground-breaking fundamental and applied research in the fields of Life and Health Science & Technology, Nanoscience, Chemical Engineering, Radiation Science & Technology, and Engineering Physics. We are also training the next generation of high school teachers and science communicators.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Applied Sciences.

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. Dennis R. Schaart, Head of Medical Physics & Technology, TU Delft ([email protected]).  

For information about the application procedure, please contact Mrs Anouk Nieuwesteeg ([email protected])     

Are you interested in this vacancy? 

To apply, please submit a letter of application, a detailed CV, transcripts of diplomas, and names and contact details of references before 6 February 2023. Foreign applicants are asked to provide their TOEFL iBT or IELTS test scores.   

• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• Applying for an exemption for specific research and educational areas is an obligatory part of the selection procedure for this vacancy. This exemption must be obtained from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) before an employment contract is agreed upon. Click here for more information.
• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• Acquisition in response to this vacancy is not appreciated.