Toegekende PIHC Projecten 2014

Ontdek het Techmed Centre en de health labs

Reguliere PIHC vouchers

Smart glasses for Parkinson patients. (UT – MST – ZGT)

The quality of life of Parkinson’s patients is dramatically reduced due to gait deficits, balance problems, and increased risk of falling. We want to develop and test the application of “smart glasses” technology in Parkinson’s patients to provide cues and feedback on gait, performance, balance and posture during daily activities, thereby increasing their independence and confidence. This smart glasses project will be used to build a network of local stakeholders (researchers, clinicians, patients, companies, government) that is necessary to develop new high-tech solutions for Parkinson patients.

Prof.dr. R. van Wezel (UT), Dr.ir. T. Heida (UT), Dr. Y. Zhao (UT), Dr. J. Nonnekes UT), Dr. M. Tjepkema-Cloostermans (MST), Dr. L. Dorresteijn (MST), Dr. J. van Vugt (MST), H.W. Nijmeijer (ZGT), A.A.A.C.M. Wertenbroek (ZGT)

Blood analysis without pain in neonates (UT – MST)

Invasive blood testing is required regularly (up to 3 times/day) in preterm and ill neonates, involving pain and other medical complications. This project aims for fast, non-invasive and painless measurements of the two most frequently determined blood values: bilirubin and hemoglobin. For this purpose, we will convert a recently developed technique (low-coherence spectroscopy, LCS) into a clinical system. LCS measures the optical absorption of bilirubin/hemoglobin in a probing volume inside skin that is highly controlled in both size and location. This enables bilirubin/hemoglobin measurements in blood vessels only, resulting in highly accurate determinations without any crosstalk from surrounding tissue.

Dr. ir. Nienke Bosschaart (UT), Prof. Dr. ir. Wiendelt Steenbergen (UT), M.D. Ageeth Kaspers (MST), Dr. ir. Bärbel van den Berg (MST)

Cotinine measurement using lab-on-a-chip (UT – MST)

Smoking cessation is important for decreasing the risk of the development of smoking related diseases as well as for improvement of prognosis and treatment of these diseases. Quit rates of current smoking cessation programmes need to be biochemically validated due to the high number of deceivers. The gold standard for this validation is cotinine measurement. This measurement is expensive and is determined in batches which causes that the outcome is only available after several weeks or months. The objective of the proposed study is to develop a less expensive lab-on-a-chip cotinine measurement that can determine the cotinine level instantly. The diagnostic value of this tool will be evaluated in an already planned randomized controlled trial of two smoking cessation programmes.

Dr. Marjolein Brusse (MST), Dr. Marcel Pieterse (UT), Dr. Kris Movig (MST), Dr. Marloes Postel (UT/Tactus), Dr. ir. Loes Segerink (UT), Dr. Somaya Ben Allouch (Saxion), Dr. ir. Wouter Olthuis (UT), Dr. Paul van der Valk (MST)

State-of-the-art in photoacoustic CT to visualize the synovium in inflammatory joint disease (UT – ZGT)

We propose a synergy between mathematics and imaging technology to facilitate high accuracy photoacoustic CT imaging of synovial joints in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Novel reconstruction techniques will be developed and validated on data from complex phantoms acquired using a new photoacoustic imager. The imager will also be used to measure on the inter-phalangeal joints of 10 RA patients. The refined algorithms will be applied to this data set. Our short-term goal is to visualize the inflamed synovial membrane in RA patients. Our long-term ambition is to make an impact in the diagnosis, and particularly, in the therapy monitoring of RA.

Srirang Manohar, PhD (UT), Christoph Brune, PhD (UT), Heins Moens, PhD (ZGT)

(In)fertility chip. Successful sterilization for men or not? (UT – MST – ZGT)

In order to review if a sterilization for a man is successful, a semen analysis is conducted three months after the procedure. The gold standard of semen analysis is optical judgment by laboratory employees. This is a variable, subjective, time-consuming and expensive method for which a man needs to bring a container with semen within 1 hour after production to a certified laboratory. With the Fertility chip the semen analysis can be automated. This will improve the test validity and reproducibility and semen can be analyzed at the nearest outpatient clinic. In cooperation with the departments of Urology and Clinical Chemistry of the Medisch Spectrum Twente (MST) and the Ziekenhuis Groep Twente (ZGT) a prototype analysis system will be tested to improve the semen analysis after sterilization and bring it closer to men.

Dr. M. Asselman (MST), Dr. C.J.A. Doelman (Medlon), Dr. ir. L.I. Segerink (UT), Drs. S. Stomps (ZGT), mr. A.G.J. de Moor (Characell BV i.o.)

Total HIP arthroplasty: developing an ambulant Dislocation Alert System (HIP-DAS) (UT – ZGT)

One of the major complications after total hip arthroplasty is dislocation of the prosthesis. Today, to prevent an early dislocation, patients are instructed with movement restrictions by a physiotherapist in order to avoid critical joint angles. However, many patients feel anxious and insecure on how to properly comply with these movement restrictions during the execution of their daily activities without the continuous attendance of a physiotherapist. An ambulant dislocation alert system that automatically warns people when approaching or exceeding critical hip angles at any time and any place will provide self confidence to the patients during their activities of daily living and may reduce the risk of a dislocation. This project will result in a proof of concept prototype product.

MD A. Peters (OCON/ZGT), Phd. R. Huis in ´t Veld (OCON/ZGT), Prof. M. Vollenbroek/Hutten (UT), Prof. H. Hermens (UT), Ir. H. Luinge (Xsens Technologies BV)

The miniaturized electronic nose (UT – MST)

An electronic nose ”smells” volatile organic compounds (VOC’S) which can be characteristic for the disease of a patient. Clinical applications are numerous. At the department of pulmonlogy they are used in research settings to detect and discriminate for instance asthma, COPD, sleep apnea and lung cancer. The main disadvantages of the electronic noses used nowadays are that they are relatively large, the sensors are expensive, measurements might be time consuming and results often can not be presented real-time. These problems can be solved when using an electronic nose based on so-called cantilever technology. The main goal of this project is to develop a clinical applicable miniaturized electronic nose at the University Twente which will be tested and validated at the lung function department of the MST-hospital Enschede.

Dr. Ir. Frans de Jongh (MST/UT/AMC), Dr P.L.P.D.M. van der Valk (MST), Drs M. Eijsvogel (MST), Dr. Ruud Steenwelle (UT), Prof. Dr. Ing. Guus Rijnders (UT), Prof. Dr.Ing. Dave Blank (UT)

Model-based planning and steering of a biopsy needle in the breast to optimise biopsy results. (UT – ZGT)

During the insertion of a needle in the breast, tissues will deform or move and the action of insertion could result in a wrong biopsy. The goal of the research is to look at available methodologies and possible innovations to anticipate on these deformations. By creating a lumped model of volumes based on MRI information, a longitudinal direction can be chosen ahead of time and possible longitudinal motion can be studied and analysed: vibration, constant velocity, etc. At the same time, in the checking MRI after needle insertion, data can be acquired to make the system learn from possible inaccuracies.

prof. dr. ir. Stefano Stramigioli (UT), dr. Jeroen Veltman (ZGT), dr. Jurgen Fütterer (UT), [Vincent Groenhuis (student UT)], Abe van der Werf (Machnet BV)

Runner-up €25.000

Development of a monitoring device for vulnerable neonates (UT – MST)

Premature neonates are vulnerable and require intensive monitoring of vital signs and repeated clinical assessments. This puts a burden on the child and cannot be done continuously. When a baby returns home, parents have to assess vital signs themselves, which may lead to uncertainty, misinterpretation, and putative dangerous situations. Motion Magnification could ameliorate these problems. A consortium, comprising of MST and three university departments, will address this clinical and societal problem by developing a near infrared monitoring device using Motion Magnification, and appropriate warning signals. Student projects will be started, with students from Technical Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, and Health Sciences.

Kees Slump (UT), Boony Thio (MST), Ferdinand van der Heijden (UT), Bernard Veldkamp (UT), Magda Boere-Boonekamp (UT), Maarten Ijzerman (UT), Job van der Palen (MST)