[visionlist] UK/EU PhD studentship - medical image analysis

[Xianghua Xie]

Medical Image Analysis and Modelling: Multimodal Quantification of Human Heart Regurgitation

Institution:				Swansea University
Dept/School/Faculty:		Department of Computer Science
PhD Supervisor:			Dr X Xie (x.xie at swansea.ac.uk)
Application Deadline:		01 May 2012
Funding Availability:		Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only), £13590 per annum for 3 years plus tuition fees.

Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD studentship to undertake research in the area of Medical Image Analysis and Modelling. The project is concerned with quantifying blood regurgitation (backflow) of human heart using multiple modalities. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Europe and one of the most frequent abnormalities is a “leaky valve”, usually on the left side of the heart. The degree of severity and its deterioration vary from patient to patient. It is critical to decide when to repair or replace the valve. The clinical operation carries a significant risk and it is also a costly procedure. The decision relies on the assessment of leakage, i.e. the amount of regurgitation. However, in current practice the assessment is indirect, inaccurate and incomplete. In this project, we study new approaches using 3D echo and colour power Doppler to provide comprehensive and direct quantitative measurements of regurgitation and flow based functional assessment. We will also carry out diffusion tensor MRI imaging to noninvasively estimate material property, which is useful in flow based computational simulation. The project attempts to address some key clinical needs such as identifying the optimal time of intervention. 

We wish to recruit a highly motivated PhD student to join an active research team in medical image analysis. Applicants should have or are expected to obtain a minimum of 2.1 Honours degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics or related subjects. Prior experience in Medical Imaging or Modelling is not necessary but strong interests in those areas are desirable. The candidate will be based in Computer Science, with support from the Colleges of Medicine, where we have access to newly installed MRI facility, and Engineering (computational modelling). The candidate will also be working with consultant cardiologists.

This project is eligible for a fully-funded Swansea University PhD Scholarship. The scholarship will commence in September 2012 and will cover Home/EU tuition fees and a stipend of £13,590 per annum for three years. This scholarship is available for Home/EU applicants only.

Applicants must complete and submit the following documentation by the closing date: 
- A  completed application form for admission to a PhD in Computer Science – submitted via the online admissions portal: Apply (Please specify a PhD in Computer Science with Swansea University funding and project title) 
- Applicants should use the ‘Additional Supporting Information’ section of the application form to explain why the nominated award they have chosen particularly appeals to them and how they would choose to develop it 
- Academic References – all admissions applications require two references to be submitted in support. Please ensure that your chosen referees are aware of the funding deadline, as we will be using these to help us evaluate your scholarship application 
- Academic Transcripts – where applicable, academic transcripts must be submitted with the online admissions application by the funding deadline. We will be using these to verify your academic qualifications 

Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2008 Results:
- 22 submissions (Computer Science and Informatics)
- 4* 25%, 3* 45%, 2* 25%, 1* 5%

-- 
Dr. Xianghua Xie (Jason)
Research Council UK Academic Fellow | Tel  : ++44 (0)1792602916
University of Swansea                                | Fax  : ++44 (0)1792295708
Department of Computer Science            | Email: x.xie at swansea.ac.uk
Faraday Tower, Singleton Park                |
Swansea SA2 8PP, UK                              | URL  : www.cs.swan.ac.uk/~csjason



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