You have your Master's degree in (bio)medical sciences, dentistry, mathematics, engineering... You are looking for a challenge. Try specializing in a versatile, innovative domain. Enroll in the Postgraduate Studies in Advanced Medical Imaging.

The programme takes one year of full-time study. All the courses are taught in English.

This postgraduate programme is intended to provide an education in medical imaging, focussing on obtaining a thorough overview of existing imaging modalities and approaches towards imaging pathology. The intention is not to provide a detailed study of one particular modality but merely to give an overview of strengths and disadvantages of individual techniques to stimulate the students to have a personal and critical view on the field. They will be encouraged to think interdisciplinary, with a focus on the clinical or research question rather than on a specific imaging modality.

The programme will provide an optimal specialized education in medical imaging and an introduction in imaging research in a clinical environment. It provides an ideal basis for research with the intention to obtain a PhD degree in medical imaging. The programme does NOT intend to educate medical specialists in clinical radiology or any other medical specialty.

Programme

The academic year starts at the end of September. There are 2 semesters and at the end of each semester there will be an examination period.

The programme consists of 3 main blocks: a truncus communis, the thesis and elective courses.

Target population

This postgraduate programme 'Advanced Medical Imaging' is intended for individuals who want to specialize in 'Integrated Advanced Medical Imaging'.

Goal

This programme will provide

• an optimal education in medical imaging and an introduction in imaging research in a clinical environment
• an ideal basis for research with the intention to obtain a PhD degree in one of the medical imaging research centres throughout the world
• an indispensable background in physics, imaging techniques and image data interpretation
• the opportunity to produce a high-level scientific paper

Persons with the following profiles will particularly benefit from this programme:

• medical doctors or dentists working in clinical non-invasive imaging
• physiologists using imaging modalities to perform basic research
• researchers in the field of clinical imaging
• researchers in technological development of imaging modalities
• engineers and physicists involved in the development, maintenance and presales of imaging equipment

This course aims to fill the gap in current educational programmes by providing an overview of existing modalities, from the physics at the base up to the clinical applications.

Requirements

Applicants should have a university Master’s degree in one of the following fields:

• medicine
• dentistry
• biomedical sciences or bio-engineering
• physics or biophysics
• engineering
• chemistry or biology
• informatics or mathematics

Persons with another degree of higher academic education may apply but they will have to add elements in the application form which can show their competence to successfully attend the programme, e.g. based on relevant working experience.

Candidates should have a basic knowledge of medical imaging or should be willing to acquire this knowledge by self-study. Basic knowledge of medical imaging includes understanding the physical principles and basic applications of CT, MRI, US, PET and SPECT. If the student is accepted, a staff member of the programme will evaluate the level of this basic knowledge at the start of the academic year. Based on this, additional material for improvement (if necessary) will be provided to the student for self-study.

Since all courses are in English, participants whose native language is not English must submit evidence of sufficient proficiency in English. This evidence can include:

• the results of a TOEFL or IELTS test
• education in English
• a successful interview

Advanced Medical Imaging - Impressionen vom Masterstudium

Übersicht der Masterstudiengänge - KU Leuven

• Adapted Physical Activity
• Advanced Business Studies
• Advanced Medical Imaging
• Advanced Studies in Economics
• Advanced Studies in Linguistics
• Advanced Studies in Theology and Religion
• American Studies
• Archeology
• Artificial Intelligence
• Astronomy and Astrophysics
• Bioethics
• Bioinformatics
• Biology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Biomedical Sciences
• Business Economics
• Canon Law
• Chemical Technology
• Chemical Technology (Engineering Rheology)
• Chemistry
• Conservation of Monuments and Sites
• Criminology
• Cultural Studies
• Cultures and Development Studies (CADES)
• Earth Observation
• Economics
• Economics and Management of Network Industries
• Educational Studies
• EIT-KIC Energy
• Electrical Engineering
• Endodontics
• Energy
• Estudios Ibéricos e Iberoamericanos
• European Social Security
• European Studies:Transnational and Global Perspectives
• Financial and Actuarial Engineering
• Financial Economics
• Food Technology
• Forensic Odontology
• Geography
• Geology
• Human Settlements
• Information Management
• Junior programmes in European Culture and Society (PECS)
• Langue et Littérature françaises
• Law
• Laws (LLM)
• Laws in Energy and Environmental Law (MEEL)
• Laws in European and International Taxation (MEIT)
• Linguistics and Literature: English
• Literary Studies
• Master of European Politics and Policies (MEPP)
• Materials Engineering
• Mathematics
• Medieval and Renaissance Studies
• Molecular and Cellular Biophysics
• Molecular Biology
• Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
• Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (Erasmus Mundus)
• Nuclear Engineering
• Oral Health Research
• Orthodontics
• Paediatric Dentistry and Special Dental Care
• Periodontology
• Pharmaceutical Research
• Philosophy
• Philosophy (MPhil)
• Physics
• Quantitative Analysis in the Social Sciences
• Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy
• Restorative Dentistry
• Safety Engineering
• Social and Cultural Anthropology
• Social Policy Analysis (IMPALLA)
• Society, Law and Religion
• Space Studies
• Statistics
• Sustainable Territorial Development
• Theology and Religious Studies
• Theoretical Chemistry and Computational Modelling
• Tropical Natural Resources Management
• Urbanism and Strategic Planning
• Water Resources Engineering
• Western Literature

Imaging is gaining increasing importance in clinical medicine. Recent treatments put higher demands on diagnosis of the nature, extent and evolutionary stadium of existing pathology. Furthermore, in order to achieve optimal treatment for an individual patient, it is becoming increasingly important to evaluate the result of medication and interventions, to perform follow-up and to adjust the available therapies.

To achieve these goals an objective quantification of morphology, function and metabolism is indispensable.

In today's health care systems, there is a tendency to change the focus from individual modality-based investigations towards a more unified, 'package' approach for a specific pathology. Additionally, economic constraints will force clinical practice to use the most efficient strategy (including the use of multiple imaging modalities) to assess specific questions for an individual patient, directed by evidence-based guidelines for treatment as well as for diagnostic procedures such as imaging.

This clearly leads to a more unified approach for medical imaging. Instead of several departments providing imaging facilities based on their modalities, future clinical imaging will be supported by an integrated imaging approach. These imaging approaches will be specific for a group of patients or pathologies, providing answers to clinical questions using the most appropriate technique and combining the strengths of different modalities instead of generating a costly competition.

These evolutions will create opportunities for persons trained in all available imaging modalities and having an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of specific techniques.