Student Projects

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We work on three key research themes in imaging physics. For more information on available projects, please check the below themes.

Research in the spotlight

Want to learn more about our research? See below our latest projects.

Decoding movement intentions in the brain using ultrasound waves

While many techniques can image brain activity, this was the first time that a new technology, called functional ultrasound imaging, was used to detect motor planning deep within the brain. The team is now applying functional ultrasound decoding to more complicated motor control tasks. At ImPhys, Dr. Maresca is developing ultrasound technologies to image brain activity down to the cellular scale.

IRIS Lab: AI for quantitative bioimaging

The aim of the IRIS lab is to open the black box of AI and develop methodologies for context-independent, knowledge-based learning of imaging systems that will address fundamental challenges in all quantitative imaging applications. The proposed AI-technology will be applied to electron, optical, and ultrasound imaging to unravel dynamic molecular processes in living organisms: conformational ensembles of proteins, single-molecule dynamics in thick tissue and super-resolved vasculature mapping in real-time.

An all-time high for far-infrared space exploration

Next year, a helium balloon the size of a soccer stadium will bring a NASA telescope to the edge of space. This project is called GUSTO, and it will help scientists understand galactic evolution by probing interstellar gas. Its most important payload are three detectors developed by Jian Rong Gao and his teams at TU Delft and SRON, without which the telescope would be blind as to its mission purpose.

Distinguishing apples from pears under the microscope

Every microscope has a maximum resolution. Beyond that limit, you cannot see your sample any more clearly. But scientists use tricks to try to do just that. “For example,” Huijben explains, “an optical microscope that uses special fluorescence to make certain proteins emit light.” As a result, they flicker constantly, a bit like the indicators on a car or flashing Christmas lights. “Thanks to that illumination, you notice the proteins and can check what shape they are later. If they look abnormal, that could be a sign of disease. So you want to

New technique for ultrafast electron microscopy (USEM)

Mathijs Garming, Pieter Kruit, and Jacob Hoogenboom (imaging physics) have published a paper in collaboration with Maarten Bolhuis and Sonia Conesa-Boj (quantum nanoscience) on a new technique for doing ultrafast scanning electron microscopy (USEM). Newly developed lock-in USEM was used to image charge carrier dynamics on the material Gallium Arsenide. The technique allows for bulk carrier and surface trapping dynamics to be separated and individually studied.

A unique Soft X-Ray source installed

The innovations in the semiconductor industry are leading to ever smaller and more efficient integrated circuits or computer chips. With the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), the demand for next-generation chips is growing. However, the manufacturing process is not perfect, leading to defects in the chips. Imaging, metrology and inspection are required to observe these defects and further improve the chips. But since these features are becoming extremely small (10.000 x smaller than a human hair), imaging these defects is a real challenge.

WIFI study: Whole-heart quantitative perfusion MRI during Free-breathing in women with Ischemia

In this project Sebastian Weingärtner, Hildo J. Lamb (Leiden University) and Frans Vos will develop new tools to diagnose a form of coronary artery disease that is not caused by obstruction in the major vessels. This form accounts for the majority of coronary artery disease cases in women but is rarely seen in man. Thus, conventional clinical methods often miss the diffuse pathological changes seen in this syndrome.

In the spotlight

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