A PhD studentship is now available within the Bioengineering Sciences Research Group, School of Engineering Sciences (SES), which will fully cover University tuition fees** and provide a tax-free bursary of £12,300 per year, rising annually in line with the UK Government (EPSRC) recommended rate, for a three-year duration.
**The studentship will fully cover Overseas fees for international applicants.
This project will focus on the development of statistical methods for characterising the variability of the femur with applications to computer-assisted planning and analysis of total hip replacements. The key idea is to develop a statistical methodology based on principal component analysis and centroidal Voronoi tessellations for characterising the spatial variability in geometry and density distribution of the femur across patients. Existing CT scan data will be used to construct a flexible, parameterised statistical model of the femur. Protocols will be developed for automatically exporting the realizations of the resulting statistical model into off-the-shelf mesh generation and finite element analysis software. The methodology developed will be applied to systematically quantify the impact of biological variability in the femur on the mechanical performance of total hip replacements. It is also intended to study the application of this methodology to computer-assisted surgical planning. Of particular interest is the problem of optimal reconstruction of patient specific three-dimensional femur geometry and density distribution from X-Ray data, and a sparse set of digitized bone surface points.
SES is a top 5* rated research school with an international reputation. The successful candidate will work with a group of highly motivated, first class research students in the areas of computational and experimental orthopaedic biomechanics
The School is a diverse community which is committed to creating an inclusive working and learning environment in which all individuals are equally treated and valued, and can achieve their potential. The School considers all studentship applications in relation to academic criteria and regardless of the individual`s race, gender, or belief.
Entry requirements: The studentship is available to candidates with the equivalent of a first class or upper second class degree in Mechanical, Computational or related Engineering disciplines. The studentship is at the standard EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) rate, commencing on 2 October 2006.
If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact
Prof. Mark Taylor,
Bioengineering Sciences Research Group,
School of Engineering Sciences,
University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ,
Tel: +44-(0)23-8059-7660,
Fax: +44-(0)23-8059-3016,
Email: m.taylor@soton.ac.uk
An on-line application form (or hard copy version) can be accessed from the following site: http://www.soton.ac.uk/SESPostgraduate/HowtoApply/ or alternatively contact
Julia Zimbler,
Postgraduate Admissions,
Graduate School Office,
School of Engineering Sciences,
Lanchester Building,
University of Southampton,
Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ,
Tel: +44-(0)23-8059-3389,
Fax: +44-(0)23-8059-5167,
Email: jfz@soton.ac.uk
Please note that applications will only be considered on receipt of a completed application form. If applying on-line, please send supporting documents to Julia Zimbler at the above address.
