MRI Without Boundaries: intelligent medical imaging for the playful child

About the Project

This PhD project aims to transform how Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is performed in young children by developing a completely new free-pose MRI capability. Conventional paediatric MRI relies on sedation because children struggle to remain still in the confined, noisy scanner, causing motion artefacts that degrade image quality. This project seeks to break that paradigm by building on four cutting-edge technologies:

1. A new ultra-wide-bore, low-field MRI scanner with light flexible receiver coils provides a spacious and safe environment where a child can adopt any comfortable posture.
2. In scanner interactive immersive technology creates a virtual world that engages the child and promotes natural stillness using eye-gaze control.
3. Real-time artificial intelligence (AI) to detect movement, estimate body pose, and dynamically update imaging geometry to maintain anatomical consistency.
4. Adaptive reconstruction algorithms to ensure high-resolution images despite motion or changing positions.

The project combines advances in biomedical engineering, AI, and human-machine interaction to deliver a technically transformative and socially impactful solution for paediatric MRI. By developing new software and methods you will create a system that continuously learns and adapts during scanning, enabling diagnostic-quality brain images without anaesthesia.

Funding Notes

Full funding for 3.5 years, covering tuition fees, a stipend, and a research support allowance as indicated below

Tuition Fees: Covered for Home students ONLY.

Stipend: £23,805 (2026/27 UKRI rate), paid monthly and tax-free.

Research Training Support Grant (RTSG): Up to £10,500 over 3.5 years for research costs and conference attendance.

Informal enquiries to supervisors are welcome, but all candidates must follow the application process outlined on the Multiscale Medical Imaging website and submit an application via King’s College London by the stated deadline to be considered.