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The Department of Internal Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg & Universitätsklinikum Erlangen together with the Institute of Applied Dynamics (LTD) Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, are offering a

Master Thesis – Digital biomarkers in inflammatory arthritis – biomechanical and experimental analysis of hand motions

Marker-based motion capturing is the current gold standard for assessing human movement. Movements such as walking are well studied and differences in patterns influenced by diseases or muscular imbalances can be evaluated and used for diagnosis. However, evaluation of fine motor actions such as hand movement are challenging to date. Within the CRC
EmpkinS, the Department of Internal Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology and the Institute of Applied Dynamics (LTD) conducted a large research study. A group of 150 patients and 75 healthy subjects were already measured for characterizing hand movements. These evaluations will help to define hand biomarkers for monitoring disease activity in rheumatic patients.

The project involves

• Biomechanical analysis of hand movements based on the existing data set
• Statistical analysis and reporting of relevant parameters
• Data collection of hand movements via motion capturing and EMG

Qualifications

• Biomedical engineering, engineering with focus on biomechanics, sport science or related studies
• C1 in German (for communication with patients) and B2 in English
• Programming experience in Matlab, Python or similar
• Courses in biomechanics and statistics (desirable), interest in working with patients

What we offer

• Interdisciplinary environment in an innovative Collaborative Research Centre EmpkinS
• Possibility to continue as a PhD student
• Additonal employment as student assistant in the working group Musculoskeletal Function and Mechanobiology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen

Start date: November 2024

If interested, please E-mail to: Birte Coppers, birte.coppers@uk-erlangen.de

PhD student position in Biomechanics / Musculoskeletal modelling

Earliest start: September 01, 2024
Workplace: Basel (Switzerland)

The project
Anterior knee pain, notably due to patella-femoral joint instability (PFJ) is a very common orthopaedics issue, particularly in adolescent girls. The causes for the instability are multi factorial and there is a knowledge gap on what are the most important factors and the patho-mechanics of the instability. Three main factors may contribute: abnormal shape of the femur and patella bones, laxity of the medial patella femoral ligament (MPFL), and the orientation of the knee extensor mechanism. Clinical decision-making process requires to evaluate the relative contribution of each factor to the overall instability to address the principal cause(s) and help the patient. We hypothesise the relative contribution of each factor varies from one patient to another, and between groups of increasing level of instability.
The objective of this project is to develop and implement a patient-specific musculoskeletal modelling platform to evaluate the relative contribution of each factor to the PFJ instability. Three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will be utilised to create patient-specific detailed model of the knee joint while bi-plane radiographs (EOS) will be utilised to create patient-specific models of the entire lower limbs and provide accurate markers to bone registration.
Musculoskeletal simulations will utilise the OpenSim musculoskeletal modelling platform.

Your assignments

The PhD project is fully funded for up to four years. The student will be working among a multidisciplinary team of orthopaedic surgeons, physiotherapists, human movement scientists, and biomedical engineers at the University Children’s Hospital Basel (UKBB). The PhD student will oversee data collection for the project at UKBB. The candidate will be registered as a PhD student at the University of Basel, and work under the supervision of Dr. Morgan Sangeux (UKBB and Department of Biomedical engineering).
In addition, the PhD student will help organize – jointly with the team – workshops and conferences, participate in outreach activities of the project, and present her/his research at scientific meetings.

Your profile

Applicants should hold a master’s degree in Biomechanics or related fields and possess excellent, demonstrated, programming skills (Matlab/python). The student should have good command of German (to interact with patients and families) and English and be able to work autonomously within an internationally and institutionally diverse environment.

We offer you

The project is based at UKBB and in the department of biomedical engineering at the University of Basel. The multidisciplinary nature of the project ensures the successful candidate will be immersed in a stimulating clinical and research environment, with cutting edge medical imaging infrastructure. The salary and the conditions of employment will be those of PhD students at the University of Basel. Salary: approx. 50’000 Swiss francs / year.

Contact

Applicants should contact Dr. Morgan Sangeux (morgan.sangeux@unibas.ch) with a motivation letter and a current CV.