Marcel Breeuwer has seen computers evolve from punch card to petabyte. The first computer he worked on was the size of a small wardrobe. At Philips he now works on the development of digital neural networks and on developing new treatment options with Neuro MRI.
Neuro MRI helps psychiatry move forward
Marcel Breeuwers reminisces on the Philips website: “The first digital X-rays were 256 by 256 pixels. That grew to 512, 1024 and so on. X-ray machines were also able to generate more and more images per second. The scans yielded more data than we could transfer from one device to another, so a compression algorithm had to be created for that.”
An interesting development is that MRI is increasingly being used for brain research and for MRI-guided neurosurgery, which is used, for example, for the treatment of essential tremor. Marcel Breeuwers is currently fully engaged in so-called Neuro-MRI research. This involves investigating psychiatric disorders using MRI scans. A number of conditions, such as chronic depression, are difficult to treat. Research with a Neuro MRI can make it possible to measure certain things in the brain, which may lead to better psychiatric treatment. “For example, with functional MRI you can make a recording of the brain and see which parts of the brain are active. It is still a relatively new field, but it is expected that this can help psychiatry.”
Clinical Innovations
The project is part of e/MTIC, in which Philips and TU/e collaborate on clinical innovations with hospitals in the Eindhoven region. In this case, Kempenhaeghe is closely involved in the investigation. Marcel Breeuwer sees himself primarily as a bridge builder. “On the one hand, I try to make a connection between image analysis research and R&D, so that scientific research into possible new solutions also finds its way to the next phase of product development. I am also involved in Clinical Science. In concrete terms, this means bridging the gap between clinical practice on the one hand and our research and product development on the other. That way we know what doctors really need and develop new solutions based on that.”
ICT&health congres 2023
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