1. Czech Technical University (Prague)
2. Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Germany)
3. Loughborough University, Leo Cancer Care (UK)
We are offering an exciting research task for a PhD thesis in the above-mentioned subject areas in the medical physics department in radiotherapy physics. As part of this work, a dynamic anthropomorphic abdomen phantom is to be developed that has the ability to simulate patient-equivalent properties for upright patient postures, including 4D CT and MRI imaging with which breathing movements can be displayed. Radiation planning is to be created for a target volume and dosimetric evaluation is to be carried out using the measurement techniques integrated in the model.
Tasks:
What we offer:
My name is Pit Arend, and I am from Luxembourg. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, which provide me with a solid academic background at the intersection of engineering and medical applications. Throughout my studies, I particularly enjoyed working on practical projects where ideas could be transformed into real, functional solutions with a tangible impact.
I am currently hosted by the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, where my work is supervised by Armin Runz and Prof. Oliver Jäkel. I am working on the project entitled “Development of an Anthropomorphic Phantom.” My role is to design and build a human-like dummy (i.e. the phantom), that can be used for quality assurance in upright radiotherapy. Through this project, I aim to create a robust and practical tool that supports experimental validation and workflow testing. My expectation is that the phantom will be useful not only for my own work, but also for many of my fellow UPLIFT PhD students, and that it will contribute to the further advancement of upright radiotherapy.
I chose this project because it is a truly interdisciplinary challenge, combining mechanical engineering, medical physics, electronics, and pneumatics, and making use of advanced manufacturing techniques such as state-of-the-art 3D printing, all of which strongly match my interests. I enjoy hands-on work and building things, especially when they serve a clear purpose, and I am especially motivated by working on a big-picture project that goes beyond individual tasks, encourages constant communication, and involves traveling to collaborate closely with different teams and partners. Outside of work, I enjoy playing basketball and tinkering with vintage motorbikes and hobby electronics, reflecting my enthusiasm for engineering, experimentation, and continuous learning.
