NOW - CLOSED - Quantifying image distortion in quantitative MRI

Primary Supervisor: Simon Walker-Samuel (UCL) Chris Clark (UCL)
Secondary Supervisor: Matt Hall (NPL), Todor Karulanov (CaliberMRI)

Project Summary

4-year funded PhD studentship is available in the UCL Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging. Funding will be at least the UCL minimum. Stipend details can be found here. The successful candidate will join the UCL CDT in Intelligent, Integrated Imaging in Healthcare (i4health) cohort and benefit from the activities and events organised by the centre. This project is a collaboration between UCL, The National Physical Laboratory and CaliberMRI. The student will be expected to spend a portion of their time at each of these institutions throughout the studentship.
 

Background

Quantitative MRI approaches are increasingly being applied clinically. These methods seek to do more than just form anatomical images, they use the scanner to make measurements of the physical properties of tissues and inform clinical decision making in ways not possible with conventional MRI. One key application is Radiotherapy treatment planning, where the radiation dose given to a patient is targeted and shaped to the specific tumour using image data. 

One important consideration in all quantitative MRI is the geometry of the applied magnetic field. Scanners are carefully designed and calibrated to make fields as uniform as possible, but the presence of any object, particularly a complex object such as a patient, in the scanner distorts the field due to its magnetic susceptibility. Distortions in the field lead to distortions in the resulting images.
 
This is an important consideration for any image used in clinical decision-making. Frequently measured quantities are derived from several images acquired with different parameters. Image distortion frequently manifests differently in different images, giving the potential for image mis-registration. In therapeutic applications distortion is even more important – the treatment planning system needs to be confident that the tumour is where it appears to be in the image.
 

Research Aims

Using suitable test-objects and materials, this project will quantify image distortion in a number of MRI modalities. This enables the construction of reference objects with complex geometries including several different magnetic susceptibilities which are nonetheless well-characterised and can be used as a reference for reconstructed images. Simulation of the interaction between the phantom and applied field will be developed to investigate sensitivity to uncertainties in phantom materials including field effects and distortion in synthetic images.

How to apply:
Please complete the following steps to apply.

•    Send an expression of interest and current CV to Prof Simon Walker-Samuel  and cdtadmin@ucl.ac.uk. Please use the subject title: Project Code 22011
•    Make a formal application to via the UCL application portal https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/apply . Please select the programme code MPhil Medical Imaging RRDMEISING01 and enter Quantifying image distortion in quantitative MRI 22011 under ‘Name of Award 1’.

This studentship is strictly for those who pay Home fees. We cannot consider overseas students.

Application Deadline - Friday 6 May 2022 (deadline extended to 29th July 2022)

Application Process:

• After the deadline, all applicants that specified Project 22011 and with a Portico application will be considered for interview.
• Candidates will normally be invited for interview within two-weeks of the deadline. If you have not been contacted within this time-period, you have unfortunately not been successful in being shortlisted.
• The interview panel will normally consist of the supervision team on the project and the CDT Director.
• The interview will normally consist of a short presentation (5-10mins) by the candidate followed by questions from a panel.
• The successful candidate will be informed by email and given a week to confirm whether they wish to accept the PhD place and funding.
• Note that applications without specifying the project they are applying for and/or making a formal Portico application will be automatically rejected.
• Once accepted, a formal UCL offer of admission will be sent to the applicant as well as an offer of studentship funding.