Research

Biomedical Instrumentation (BIT)

This division advances theoretical and experimental research that relates to biomedical engineering systems for diagnosis and therapy. Activities include modelling and simulation, signal processing, experimental in-vitro and in-vivo instrumentation for performance and evaluation in clinical settings. One area of particular interest is biomedical optics. Models for light-tissue interaction and heat transfer, laser Doppler flowmetry, spectroscopy, microscopy and photo physics are important technological corner stones in our laboratories. The main application areas are: skin engineering where methods to analyse and interpret skin data captured from tumours, skin reactions and ulcers are developed and renewed. In the neuro engineering field the applications are directed towards stereotactic neurosurgery using radiofrequency technique and brain tumour discrimination. Cardiovascular applications include methods for perfusion and oxygenation measurements on the beating heart.

Physiological Measurements (FMT)

The research covers areas from physiological modelling to non-invasive measurements of various physiological parameters. Working with ultrasound, bio-optics and bio-acoustics, the medical applications are mainly in the cardiovascular area. In ultrasound development of ultrasound contrast, methods to measure blood perfusion in the heart muscle are performed. Simulation and in-vitro modelling are used. Bio-optical research is performed on photoplethysmography, the origin of this signal and how this signal can be related to blood flow. Furthermore, absorption spectroscopy is used to study the chemical content in fluids and is applied to optimising the dialysis process. A concept in the bio-acoustic research is the intelligent stethoscope where physiologically relevant information is extracted from the signal. Intelligent sensors in home and primary heath care is one main area of application.

Medical Informatics (MI)

The overall purpose of systems developed in the field of medical informatics is to extract and present clinically relevant information. Medical information appears in many different forms: parameters, value measurements, time courses, images, volumes, image and volume sequences. Methods to attain new types of information are continuously being developed and the detail and quality of recorded data is increasing rapidly. Huge amounts of potentially relevant information can be tied to one single patient. In addition it is necessary to be able to integrate and analyse information from a large number of patients and time instances. This development has led to a situation where we, in a manner of speaking, are at risk of drowning in the overwhelming flow of information. To be able to extract the relations that are pertinent in a given situation and to present them in a way that is simple to understand is rapidly becoming the main problem. Efficient solutions to this problem will be crucial components in future health care. To develop principles and methods for such solutions is the goal of the research in the field of medical informatics. In particular the research group focuses on the development of systems for medical decision support and medical image analysis.

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