KIT Career ServiceTheses at KIT

Design and Simulation of a Multi-Channel Focused Ultrasound System for Microfluidic Blood-Brain Barrier Models

Research topic/area
Medizinische Ultraschallbildgebung /-therapie
Type of thesis
Master
Start time
03.11.2025
Application deadline
31.12.2025
Duration of the thesis
6-12 Months (can be adapted)

Description

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a complex cellular interface that protects the brain from harmful substances while limiting drug delivery to the central nervous system (CNS). Focused ultrasound (FUS), when combined with microbubbles, has emerged as a promising method for transiently and non-invasively opening the BBB to enhance CNS drug delivery.

While rodent experiments are low-throughput, ethically challenging, and expensive, microfluidic organ-on-chip platforms offer a powerful alternative by mimicking the structural and functional characteristics of the human BBB. When combined with FUS, these platforms can serve as high-throughput tools for parameter optimization
in targeted drug delivery.

Objectives
The primary aim of this thesis is to design, build, and validate a prototype four-channel FUS system using benchtop electronics for precise, controlled BBB opening in a microfluidic BBB-on-chip platform that has been designed by the Medical Faculty of Mannheim

Specific objectives are:
  • Simulate, design, construct, and characterize a FUS transducer compatible with the microfluidic chip model.
  • Integrate transducers into a four-channel prototype FUS hardware platform, including signal generation and amplification using benchtop electronics, as well as proper acoustic coupling into the micro-fluidic chip.
  • Validate the system's ability to open the BBB in vitro using microfluidic chips, assessing both permeability and safety.


Requirement

Requirements for students
  • Programming skills in MATLAB required.
  • Basic knowledge in electronics required.
  • Interest in medical imaging and in particular ultrasound imaging.
  • Basic knowledge in acoustic simulations beneficial.

Faculty departments
  • Engineering sciences
    Electrical engineering & information technologies
    Mechanical engineering
    Mechatronics & information technologies
    Mechanical Engineering
  • Natural sciences and Technology
    Physics
    Medical technology


Supervision

Title, first name, last name
Dr. Torsten Hopp
Organizational unit
Institut für Prozessdatenverarbeitung und Elektronik (IPE)
Email address
torsten.hopp@kit.edu
Link to personal homepage/personal page
Website

Application via email

Application documents
  • Cover letter
  • Grade transcript

E-Mail Address for application
Senden Sie die oben genannten Bewerbungsunterlagen bitte per Mail an torsten.hopp@kit.edu


Back