"THE COMBINATION OF TECHNOLOGY AND THE ABILITY TO HELP PEOPLE IS VALUABLE AND VERY INSPIRING."
At Artinis Medical Systems (https://www.artinis.com/), I manage a multidisciplinary team and develop systems for research and the medical world. I have been working on the development of a sensor that monitors saturation (oxygen in the brain) in real-time for patients in the Intensive Care Unit and the operating theatre. The supply of sufficient oxygen to the brain is of vital importance. When, for example, a narrowing in the blood vessels is detected, the earlier you can act the higher the chance damage can be prevented. We worked on a sensor that can detect whether there is sufficient oxygen in the blood by using different types of light. If this is not the case, the physician can intervene immediately.
I was involved also with was the NeuroGuard project. Together with the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital (WKZ) in Utrecht and hospitals in Portugal and Hungary, we developed a new neonatal brain monitoring device for premature babies. This device can detect problems with blood supply to the brain so immediate action can be taken. Especially for these very young and vulnerable babies, any help you can give early has a great impact on their future lives. It was great to be part of this, even more so since I recently became a father myself!
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A broadly educated partner
Medical devices can only be developed in teams, with experts from different backgrounds. My Biomedical Engineering programme helped me prepare for multidisciplinary teamwork. I gained knowledge of electrical engineering, signal analysis, optics, general anatomy, cell biology, physics, and mathematics. I chose the bachelor's in Biomedical Engineering because I thought it was an exciting programme and the broad scope of science and technology appealed to me. Now that I am a graduate working in this field, that excitement has carried over to my job because every project offers new challenges in all of these fields.
Internship Down Under
I had a fantastic time as a student! I got the chance to do my master’s internship at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. I worked on a device to separate bloodborne cancer cells from regular blood cells and worked on how to keep these cancer cells separated for further analysis. The aim was to find out the particularities of these cancer cells to steer further treatment therapy. During my internship I realised that the (lab) facilities at UT are much better than the facilities I worked with in Sydney. Especially the high-tech lab-on-a-chip research facilities at UT are really great! Besides professional knowledge, personal development is also important and you certainly get that in abundance from such an experience abroad. You learn how to work with people from other cultures, your English improves, and you learn how to become self-reliant in unfamiliar situations. I still benefit from this internship and I would wholeheartedly recommend such an experience to every student.