PhD Student for Ultrafast Imaging of the Vocal Fold Oscillations bei Universitätsklinikum Freiburg

During speaking and singing, the human vocal folds (VFs) perform one of the fastest motions in the human body with v 4 m/s at frequencies between f = 150 - 1600 Hz. In clinical routine and in voice research this motion is currently imaged with laryngeal stroboscopy, where a camera is inserted in the pharynx through the mouth or nose. Apart from the discomfort associated with this invasive procedure, it is inherently limited to a superficial view of the vocal folds which only allows the visualization of lateral motion, but hides vertical motion between camera and VFs.

In our research group we have pioneered a new 2D-imaging technique to visualize the VF motion using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). For the first time, we were able to image physiological motion with a temporal reso-lution below 1 ms (see figure). MRI offers a free choice of the image plane and thus allows us to simultaneously image the vertical and lateral motion.

In the thesis you will work on optimizing the imaging procedure via:

• optimized gradient switching
• 3-dimensional motion encoding
• new synchronization hardware
• post-processing algorithms

The successful candidate should have an interest (and, preferably, some experience) in:

• medical physics and electromagnetics
• programming (C++, Matlab)
• physiology of voice production

Please submit your application and relevant documents by the "Apply now"-Button or email.