PhD Student in Generative Acoustics in Surgery / PhD Studentess in Generative Acoustics in Surgery

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Your Responsibilities

The primary responsibility of the PhD student will be to conduct original research at the intersection of signal processing, machine learning, and medical imaging, specifically focused on orthopedic surgery. The student will develop generative audio models that create a realistic, action-conditioned soundscape of surgical procedures while advancing the multimodality of current surgical simulations. The work involves:

• Data collection through ex-vivo experiments.
• Development of novel scientific methods and their integration into a functional prototype.
• Validation of the prototype through user studies.

Expected outcomes include methodological contributions documented through publications in leading venues such as MICCAI, IPCAI, or Medical Image Analysis. Initially, the candidate will review state-of-the-art research and establish a structured multi-year research plan in collaboration with the supervisor. The PhD position is part of the graduate school of the University of Zurich and includes serving as a teaching assistant for 1-2 courses per year.

Key Project Involvements

The PhD project will specifically include:

• Advancing generative models to create action-conditioned, realistic soundscapes for next-generation multimodal surgical simulations.
• Developing an advanced data capture setup and acquiring a dataset through realistic ex-vivo experiments at OR-X.
• Benchmarking existing generative approaches for producing a realistic soundscape of surgical tool-tissue interactions.
• Conducting validation and user studies to evaluate the effectiveness of the developed methods.
• Collaborating with surgeons and engineers to ensure translational relevance.
• Disseminating results through scientific publications, patents, and prototype demonstrations.

Your Profile

The ideal candidate will possess an excellent MSc degree in mechanical, electrical engineering, or computer science, with a strong background in signal processing, machine learning, computer vision, and image processing, preferably in the context of computer-assisted surgery. You should also bring:

• Excellent programming skills and hands-on experience with hardware (e.g., audio capture devices, cameras, tracking systems, imaging devices).
• Proficiency in software frameworks (OpenCV, Open3D, ROS2, AI/ML libraries).
• A solid understanding of generative models and proven experience in working with multimodal data (images, 3D data, natural language, audio).
• Familiarity with AI/ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow) and signal processing libraries (scipy, librosa).
• Practical experience with computer vision and/or machine listening, along with proficiency in relevant libraries (e.g., OpenCV, Open3D, librosa, PyAudio).
• Excellent communication skills in English (knowledge of German is an asset), along with initiative, problem-solving ability, and the capacity to work well in a team.

Apply online using the form below. Please note that only applications matching the job profile will be considered.

Contact Information

For further inquiries, please reach out to:

Joelle Kunz
Assistant
+41 44 510 73 66
Joinrocs@balgrist.ch