Connectionists: PhD Studentship in Paediatric Epilepsy

[Manousos Klados]

Applications are invited for a PhD studentship in the Aston University (UK).



*The Role*

A PhD student position is available in the Department of Biomedical
Engineering at the Aston University to work in collaboration with the Aston
Brain Center and the Birmingha Women Children Hospital.



*The Project*



*DeSOZ: Automatic Detection of Seizure Onset Zone from scalp EEG Signals in
Children with MRE*

The main aim of this project, is to develop an algorithm for the automatic
localisation of the epileptogenic source, based only on high-density EEG
(hdEEG), in children with medically refractory epilepsy (MRE), which is
currently missing.  Many patients with epilepsy seizures are proven
medically resistant and respective surgery is the only remaining treatment
alternative. This is performed for removing a small portion of brain tissue
that is currently defined using intracranial electroencephalogram (iEEG).
However, iEEG monitoring has its limitations, which are mainly found in its
invasiveness, cost and the limited spatial sampling. To date, this results
in a significant number of patients continuing to experience postsurgical
seizures. During the last few years, high-frequency oscillations (HFOs
above 80 Hz) have emerged as a new promising biomarker in pre-surgical
diagnosis of epileptogenicity, while the resection of the tissue generating
HFOs improves surgical outcome in patients with MRE. Despite the findings,
HFOs are not used in clinical practice, mainly due to the lack of studies
addressing their detection and analyses with non-invasive methods. The
ultimate goal of the project is to automatically detect HFOs and localise
their source of origin, by using only hdEEG, which is necessary for a solid
sampling and accurate localisation of HFOs on the scalp. Achieving this.
The main outcomes of the project will be so the gained knowledge for the
mechanism of HFOs and their relation to epilepsy as a valuable tool for the
clinicians who perform surgical operations, and patients who will refrain
from invasive monitoring (iEEG).



*The Person*

Expressions of Interest are invited from outstanding and enthusiastic
graduates with a background in mathematics, physics, engineering or
informatics, who have been awarded the UK equivalent of a First or Upper
Second Class Honours degree in a relevant subject or have an MSc and/or
similar award or experience deemed to provide evidence of research
potential. Experience with signal processing, as well as MATLAB experience
or other programming languages area required. Some background in
neuroscience and EEG would be an advantage.





For further information on entry requirements, please visit
http://www.aston.ac.uk/lhs/research/postgraduate-research.



*Application Procedure*



Apply online (http://www.aston.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/) and use the
drop-down menus to select:



·      School: School of Life and Health Sciences

·      Entry month: July

·      Attendance type: Full-time

·      Degree type: Postgraduate Research

·      Degree Programme:  Research Neurosciences



Please use the “DeSOZ: Automatic Detection of Seizure Onset Zone from scalp
EEG Signals in Children with MRE” as the project title and quote Ref:
‘SCHOOL_FTJuly2018’ on all applications



*Studentship*



Each studentship funds Home/EU tuition fees (£4,195 p.a.) plus a stipend of
£14,553 p.a. and is available for 3 years subject to a satisfactory
progress review at the end of the first year.



*Enquiries*

Further information regarding the project can be obtained by contacting Dr.
Manousos Klados (m.klados at aston.ac.uk)




* Manousos A. Klados, MSc, PhD Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering
Department of Biomedical Engineering School of Life & Health Sciences,
Aston University Room: MB555 | Email: m.klados at aston.ac.uk
<m.klados at aston.ac.uk> Phone: +44(0)1212043740
Websites: http://www.mklados.com <http://www.mklados.com> &
http://www.aston.ac.uk/lhs/staff/az-index/mklados
<http://www.aston.ac.uk/lhs/staff/az-index/mklados> Address: The Aston
Triangle, B47ET, Birmingham, UK *
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