QUT offers a diverse range of student topics for Honours, Masters and PhD study. Search to find a topic that interests you or propose your own research topic to a prospective QUT supervisor. You may also ask a prospective supervisor to help you identify or refine a research topic.
Found 18 matching student topics
Displaying 1–12 of 18 results
Atomic-scale identification of catalyst active sites using electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy
Catalysts have an important role to play in electrochemical reactions. By reducing the energy required for a reaction, they can save electricity and make feasible the reactions that will enable future sustainable technologies, such as the evolution of hydrogen from water. Optimisation of catalysts requires a detailed mechanistic understanding of their function. A key aspect of this is determining, at the atomic scale, the reactive sites on the catalyst surface. This type of insight can be provided by performing atomic-scale …
- Study level
- Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
Improving language outcomes in people with epilepsy
Epilepsy is a serious and debilitating condition which is grossly under-researched despite the devastating impact it can have. Damage to the vast language processing network of the brain during surgical resection can cause aphasia, a devastating communication disability. This project aims to determine reliable pre-surgical mapping and outcome predictors in epilepsy resection: To 1) develop a reliable and comprehensive battery to map the language network in pre-surgical epilepsy patients with different foci, and 2) assess how the reorganisation of the …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Clinical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Polymer theranostics for nanomedicine
The personalised treatment of disease though nanomedicine will allow for more effective and safer treatments for patients. Polymer theranostics provide for the simultaneous detection of disease, treatment, and monitoring of therapeutic response. Our research group synthesises new polymeric materials and investigates how they can be used in applications such as:potent antivirals to fight future pandemicsthe effect of radiation on materials for improved radiotherapy for cancerresponsive imaging agents that can report on metabolic processes of diseasecharacterizing the interaction of polymeric materials …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
Hearing colour and seeing sound – switchable optoacoustic imaging agents
Optoacoustic imaging is a relatively new medical imaging technique. It utilises laser light to excite an imaging agent, which in turn converts this light energy into heat. This heat is dissipated as a sound wave, which can be detected with an ultrasound receiver. This technique aims to overcome the minimal penetration depth of fluorescence imaging, and the lack of molecular specificity of ultrasound.In this project we are aiming to develop and synthesize intelligent imaging agents for optoacoustics, which are able …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
Low-cost portable Magnetic Resonance Imaging for clinical applications
The aim of this project is to develop accurate low-cost medical imaging methodology for pseudo-3D mapping of Mammographic Density (MD) within the breast. MD is the degree of radio-opacity (“whiteness”) in an X-ray mammogram. It has implications for breast cancer risk, ease of detection of breast cancer, and monitoring of the efficacy of hormonal breast cancer prevention or anti-cancer treatments.Healthcare ChallengeThere is a growing need for affordable and accurate quantitative assessment of MD without ionising radiation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
Advanced artificial intelligence based ultrasound imaging applications
Our research in the space of advanced quantitative medical imaging is investigating how to use ultrasound as a real time volumetric mapping tool of human tissues, to guide in a reliable and accurate way complex medical procedures1. We have developed several novel methods which make use of the most cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology2. For example, to show where the treatment target and the organs at risk are at all times during treatments in radiation therapy3, 4; or to inform robots …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Clinical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
SLAM inside the human body: camera tracking and 3D reconstruction for medical procedures
Minimally invasive surgery and endoscopic interventions rely heavily on the clinician’s ability to understand and navigate complex internal anatomy using only a narrow and often restrictive field of view. Having access to an accurate and dynamic 3D reconstruction of the endoscopic scene, together with reliable camera pose estimation can significantly improve spatial awareness and navigation during procedures. The generated map can be used alongside the device’s estimated location to help clinicians better orient themselves within the patient, and it also …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics
3D scene reconstruction for medical application
New computer vision methods using machine learning can reconstruct 3D dynamic environments. We are working on medical application to track clinicians, patients body, lesions and tools. Those techniques can be applied for tracking injuries (e.g. wound), providing analytic of operating theatre, and provide guidance for surgical intervention.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics
Explainable AI for medical imaging
AI is increasingly used for interpreting medical images (e.g. MRI, CT, X-ray) in order to diagnose or monitor diseases. We are working on methods that can explain the AI decision and provide supplementary information. For example, if AI detect an abnormality, we want to generate the same scan without the abnormality. Another example is to detect automatically an area that is suspicious just by learning what healthy scans look like.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics
Identifying individuals at high risk of Alzheimer’s disease
Dementia is the greatest cause of disability in Australians over the age of 65 years. In the absence of a significant medical breakthrough, more than $6.4 million Australians will be diagnosed with dementia in the next 40 years. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease (AD), accounting for 60-80% of cases. The pathogenic process of AD begins decades prior to the clinical onset, so it is likely that treatments need to begin early in the disease process to …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Regenerating bone following osteosarcoma tumour resection in a post-chemotherapy treated bone defect
Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary bone cancer in children and adolescents. Standard treatment involves surgical resection of the tumour combined with systemic chemotherapy. While most patients undergo limb-sparing surgery to avoid amputation, this often results in significant morbidity and lifelong complications. These complications stem from the creation of large bone defects, poor healing outcomes, the need for revision surgeries, and long-term prosthetic failureThere is a critical clinical need for regenerative strategies that restore bone integrity and function following …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Local drug delivery to prevent osteosarcoma recurrence and metastasis
Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary bone cancer in children and adolescents. Despite aggressive treatment involving multi-agent chemotherapy and wide surgical resection, survival outcomes remain poor, with five year survival as low as 13% for patients with metastatic or recurrent disease. Current treatment relies heavily on systemic chemotherapy, which is associated with significant toxicity and long-term side effects, including cardiotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, and impaired growth and fertility. Local recurrence occurs in up to 30% of patients after surgical resection, often …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
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