Imaging & In Vitro Diagnostics
Source: https://www.utwente.nl/en/education/master/programmes/biomedical-engineering/specialisation/imaging-and-in-vitro-diagnostics/ Parent: https://www.utwente.nl/en/education/master/programmes/biomedical-engineering/
Learn to visualise and interpret the processes in human cells and bodies, in order to detect diseases and monitor health.
Are there painless and more reliable ways to detect breast cancer? Within the specialisation in Imaging & In Vitro Diagnostics, you will develop new strategies and improve existing techniques for visualising the human body and detecting abnormalities in cells and tissues in order to detect diseases and monitor health. The focus is on generating medical images of the human body on the one hand (imaging), and on analysing bodily fluids and tissue samples outside of the human body on the other hand (in vitro diagnostics).
As a student of this specialisation, you will understand exactly which diagnostic technique to use for which purpose. You get a broad overview of techniques for both imaging or in vitro diagnostics.
Séverine Le Gac, associate professor in the department of Applied Microfluidics for BioEngineering Research
What is Imaging & In Vitro Diagnostics?
This specialisation familiarises you with the latest techniques and developments in the field of optics, optical microscopy, photoacoustics, ultrasound, radiation, (electro)magnetism as well as in vitro diagnostics, including lab-on-a-chip devices. You will not only gain an understanding of these techniques and apply them in medical contexts, but you will also aim to improve these techniques. You might for example focus on optimising the accuracy or efficiency of certain diagnostic techniques, or on reducing the impact on patients by imaging the body without the need for an operation or the injection of contrast fluid. Ultimately, you will enable physicians to offer their patients better treatment based on optimal evidence.
Examples of courses you will follow during this specialisation:
- In In Vitro Diagnostics, you and your team members will design an IVD solution for a disease or disorder, answering unmet needs by current solutions, and present your solution to different clinical, industrial and academic stakeholders.
- How can you improve medical imaging modalities to get outstanding images within the least amount of time? In Imaging Technology in Radiology, you learn how medical images are formed based on the measured signal.
In developing and improving such imaging and in vitro techniques, there’s a great variety of topics you might come across. For example, how can you perform a CT scan with minimal (harmful) radiation? How can you accelerate the analysis of MRI scans to optimise population cancer screening? And what about detecting infectious diseases through self-tests instead of laboratory testing? You will learn to deal with relevant, real-life challenges that are of topical interest in today’s clinical practice. This specialisation is integrated within UT’s inspiring and innovative TechMed Centre, enabling you to work on high tech experiments within multidisciplinary teams.
Background knowlegde
For the specialisation in Imaging & In Vitro Diagnostics a strong foundation of imaging, optics, and signal analysis is essential. These examples provide insight into the types of background knowledge we typically expect from applicants. They are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute a formal admission requirement or a guarantee of acceptance.
What will you learn?
As a graduate of this Master's and this specialisation, you have acquired specific, scientific knowledge, skills and values, which you can put to good use in your future job.
Knowledge
After completing this Master’s specialisation, you:
- know the pros and cons of each medical imaging modality and their applications;
- know how to optimise medical imaging modalities to address clinical issues;
- are aware of new technological and analytical developments in the field of in vitro diagnostics and are able to apply them in a variety of settings.
Skills
After successfully finishing this Master’s specialisation, you:
- are able to set up imaging experiments using clinical scanners and complex phantoms, and to interpret and analyse images quantitatively;
- can design and develop new in vitro diagnostic solutions;
- are able to organise your work in the context of a project team and present your work both orally and on a poster, both at a high academic level.
Values
After completing this Master’s specialisation, you:
- have a versatile, yet technical approach to medical imaging experiments and in vitro diagnostics;
- appreciate the societal context of your work to answer unmet needs of patients, clinicians and industrial parties;
- have the innovative mindset to develop and improve new technical advances in medical imaging and in vitro diagnostics.
Other master’s and specialisations
Is this specialisation not exactly what you’re looking for? Maybe one of the other specialisations suits you better. Or find out more about related Master’s:
- Master's in Nanotechnology
- Master's in Technical Medicine (Dutch-taught)