Synergistic Triple Modality PET/SPECT/CT Reconstruction for Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer

4 year funded PhD studentship. Now Closed.

Synergistic Triple Modality PET/SPECT/CT Reconstruction for Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer

Primary Supervisor: Prof Kris Thielemans

A 4 year funded PhD studentship is available in the UCL Institute of Nuclear Medicine Funding will be at least the UCL minimum. Stipend details can be found here. The successful candidate will align with the UCL CDT in Intelligent, Integrated Imaging in Healthcare (i4health) cohort and benefit from the activities and events organised by the centre.

Project Background & Research Aims:

This project aims to improve the accuracy and precision of clinical functional imaging using joint information from Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and x-ray Computed Tomography (CT). PET and SPECT are two of the main imaging modalities for cancer detection and are also used for the detection of inflammation and calcification. They also play a fundamental role in the newly established Theragnostic approach delivering patient-specific treatment and therapy monitoring using images. For the first time, the synergistic reconstruction methods developed in this project will fully exploit the data obtained from triple modality scanners. In addition, we will investigate the possibility to jointly reconstruct data from SPECT/CT and PET/CT scans acquired at different time points. Our aim is to increase the ability of these modalities to early detect and diagnose priority diseases, and to monitor therapy effectiveness.

Person specification & requirements:

Candidates must meet the UCL graduate entry requirements which include holding at least an upper second class degree or equivalent qualifications in a relevant subject area such as physics, biomedical engineering, computer science or applied mathematics. A Master’s degree in a relevant discipline and additional research experience would be an advantage. Applicants should have a demonstrated interest in medical imaging.

Please send an expression of interest and current CV to: k.thielemans@ucl.ac.uk

For funding eligibility please consult the following webpage: Guidance on EPSRC student eligibility

Deadline for applications: 22nd March 2021 - NOW CLOSED.