PhD position: Spectroscopic optical coherence tomography for non-invasive blood analysis

Project background

Anemia is a frequently occurring condition in hospitalized patients, requiring regular invasive sampling for the analysis of blood hemoglobin (Hb) levels to prevent complications or to initiate therapy. Invasive hemoglobin analysis is associated with adverse complications, including iatrogenic blood loss and delayed decision making. This is particularly problematic for vulnerable patients such as premature newborns and surgical patients. Non-invasive alternatives exist, but are not sufficiently reliable to replace invasive sampling.

Spectroscopic optical coherence tomography (sOCT) offers a novel approach to non-invasive hemoglobin analysis. Whereas conventional non-invasive approaches suffer from signal crosstalk from an unknown amount of non-vascular tissue, sOCT uniquely images microvascular skin anatomy and subsequently confines the Hb determination to vascular tissue exclusively. By excluding the non-vascular component, this approach provides a direct, one-on-one comparison to the current gold standard of invasive blood analysis.

Our aim is to develop sOCT-Hb determinations for both newborn and adult anemic patients with clinically relevant accuracy and precision.

The PhD project
In this PhD project, you will develop and apply a spectroscopic optical coherence tomography system for non-invasive hemoglobin analysis in newborns and adults.

The project contains technological elements (development of sOCT signal analysis models), experimental elements (model validation), engineering elements (clinical sOCT system development) and clinical elements (application on patients).You will be a member of the Biomedical Photonic Imaging group of the University of Twente and will collaborate closely with engineers, clinicians and scientists. During this four-year project, you will conduct research leading to a PhD dissertation. As part of your PhD training, you will also complete approximately 30 EC of courses and professional development activities.

Central Service Desk Employee

• Jij bent het eerste aanspreekpunt en de verbindende schakel tussen gebruikers, collega’s en leveranciers. Meldingen, vragen en signalen komen bij jou binnen en dankzij jouw overzicht en coördinatie vinden ze snel hun weg naar de juiste oplossing.
• Samen met nog een collega van de Centrale Servicedesk bied jij ondersteuning aan de collega’s van onderhoud, beheer en de projectteams, die zich dagelijks inzetten voor een veilige, duurzame en toekomstbestendige campus. Grote renovaties, verduurzamingsprojecten en dagelijkse onderhoudsvraagstukken: jij zorgt ervoor dat alles soepel op gang komt en in beweging blijft.
• Zo draag je – vaak achter de schermen, maar altijd onmisbaar – bij aan projecten en werkzaamheden die de campus continu verbeteren.
• Bij Onderhoud & Vastgoed (O&V) maak je impact door mensen te helpen, processen te laten werken en bij te dragen aan een campus waar iedereen het beste uit zichzelf kan halen.

Postdoc in Robotic instruments for minimally invasive surgery

The position is part of the FlexSMART project with the aim of integrating sensing and control within soft/flexible surgical devices for minimally invasive surgery. Recent publications from the FlexSMART project can be found below:

Document 1

Document 2

The project will be conducted within the research facilities of the Department of Biomechanical Engineering. In addition there are excellent opportunities for close collaboration with clinicians, hospitals and international institutions.

Management/Office assistant

De vakgroep Formal Methods and Tools - FMT group van de faculteit Electrical Engineering, Mathematics & Computer Science (EEMCS) zoekt een ervaren management/office assistant. In deze veelzijdige functie bied je de dagelijkse ondersteuning aan de vakgroepvoorzitter en medewerkers van de vakgroep.

De vakgroep heeft in totaal ongeveer 40 medewerkers onder meer bestaande uit promovendi, onderzoekers en de vaste staf. Het is een internationale groep, waarin de communicatie vaak in het Engels verloopt. Binnen de vakgroep wordt veel waarde gehecht aan een open, collegiale en transparante werksfeer.

Vanuit jouw centrale positie houd je het overzicht in de veelheid van interne en externe dossiers en afspraken van de vakgroep. Je fungeert als eerste aanspreekpunt voor vragen en je verricht alle voorkomende secretariële werkzaamheden zoals agendabeheer, e-mailverkeer, in- en uitgaande post, boeken van reizen, en het voorbereiden en geheel zelfstandig organiseren van vergaderingen en bijeenkomsten (in het Nederlands en Engels). Verder organiseer je in teamverband symposia en conferenties. Je verzorgt de verslaglegging (primair in het Engels), en monitort en bewaakt de gemaakte afspraken, deadlines en (realiseren van) actiepunten en besluiten.

Daarnaast speel je een rol in de communicatie door het bijhouden van websites, sociale media en persoonlijke contacten. Het is belangrijk dat je zorgvuldig en integer met vertrouwelijke informatie kunt omgaan. Ook bewaak je de financiën en bied je ondersteuning bij projectmanagement.

Als management/office assistant ben jij hierdoor de spin in het web, zodat de vakgroep optimaal wordt ondersteund.

Postdoctoral Researcher Integrating In-Well DAS with seismological stations for offshore near-real-time monitoring

The transition toward sustainable offshore resource management and subsurface utilisation is driving an unprecedented demand for reliable monitoring technologies. Offshore environments present unique challenges for geophysical observations due to their limited accessibility, high operational costs, and sparse instrumentation. At the same time, the need to detect and characterise seismic activity in near real time is becoming increasingly important for ensuring operational safety, understanding subsurface processes, and supporting informed decision-making in offshore settings. Recent advances in sensing technologies offer new opportunities to improve monitoring capabilities and provide a more comprehensive view of dynamic processes occurring beneath the seabed.

This project will develop innovative methodologies to integrate In-Well Distributed Acoustic Sensing (In-Well DAS) data with observations from offshore seismological stations, currently under development, enabling on-site near-real-time offshore seismic monitoring. The existing In-Well DAS fiber-optic cables can be transformed into dense arrays of seismic sensors, complementing the offshore seismic stations and potentially increase the detection limits. By combining these complementary observations through advanced signal processing, machine learning, and physics-based simulations, the project aims to improve event detection, localization, and characterization capabilities in challenging offshore environments. The resulting framework will establish scalable workflows for seismicity monitoring applicable to offshore regions. Results will be disseminated through high-quality scientific publications, conference presentations, open-source algorithms, and collaborations with academic, governmental, and industry partners.

You will collaborate closely with researchers from KNMI and directly with EBN, and you will work within a large Horizon Europe CETP consortium led by NORSAR. You will join an interdisciplinary research environment, working closely with authorities in seismology, geophysics, signal processing, and geospatial data science. As part of a dynamic team of researchers, Doctoral candidates, and external collaborators, you will contribute to the development of next-generation monitoring solutions that bridge emerging sensing technologies and established seismological practices. The project offers opportunities to collaborate with leading national and international partners and to contribute to teaching and supervision activities related to geophysical monitoring and data integration.