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The power of sound: repairing spinal discs with ultrasound
Globally, more than 600 million people suffer from chronic back pain, and if you’re one of them, you know…
Veerle Brans
Biomedical Engineer
Veerle Brans is a bioengineering researcher at the University of Oxford, specialising in using sound waves for non-invasive medical…
Supporting Birth with the ‘Fit4Labour’ Decision Support Tool
When complications arise during labour, doctors and midwives may need to intervene to avoid tragic outcomes. However, it is…
Antoniya Georgieva
Data Scientist and AI for Obstetrics
I have developed my career in biomedical research, building on my expertise in Artificial Intelligence and mathematics, but specialising…
What happens after a dementia diagnosis?
One in two people will be affected by dementia in their lifetime – whether that is as a patient, or somebody caring for a loved one. But what happens after a dementia diagnosis? Is there a clear pathway ahead? We chat to Jasmine Blane, a DPhil researcher at the Oxford Brain Health Clinic, about the work she is doing to help support patients in the midst of a dementia diagnosis, and into the future.
Jasmine Blane
I am a DPhil student at the University of Oxford, Department of Psychiatry. After completing my BSc in Psychology and MSc in Clinical Neuropsychology, I worked as a research assistant, studying various aspects of memory and memory impairments, including dementia research trials at Oxford. I was fortunate to be awarded a full studentship to pursue my DPhil in Psychiatry. My research focuses on translational dementia research, aiming to bridge the gap between research advances and clinical practice to benefit people with memory problems and their families. My DPhil project involves adapting digital memory and thinking tests for NHS patients attending…
The power of sound: repairing spinal discs with ultrasound
Globally, more than 600 million people suffer from chronic back pain, and if you’re one of them, you know how debilitating it can be. What’s more, the conventional treatment options have their limitations: surgery is highly invasive and costly, and physiotherapy is used to manage symptoms rather than tackle the root cause. So, might there be another option? In this video, Dr Veerle Brans from Oxford’s Department of Engineering Science explains how ultrasound – which you might know from pregnancy scans – could hold the key to treating back pain in the future.
Veerle Brans
Veerle Brans is a bioengineering researcher at the University of Oxford, specialising in using sound waves for non-invasive medical treatments. Her research focuses on conditions such as back pain and orthopaedic implant infections. Beyond her work in the lab, she is passionate about bridging the gap between academia, industry, and science policy, advocating for collaborative approaches to advance healthcare. She values interdisciplinary collaboration and science communication. She regularly participates in public engagement initiatives such as Spotlight: Illuminating Engineering, the IF Science and Ideas Festival, the Oxford Brookes Science Bazaar, and departmental open days. Veerle’s journey at Oxford began in 2016 when two academics…
Supporting Birth with the ‘Fit4Labour’ Decision Support Tool
When complications arise during labour, doctors and midwives may need to intervene to avoid tragic outcomes. However, it is very difficult to monitor the health of a baby when it is in the womb. Traditional belt monitors (or CTG) have their limitations. So how do we know when these interventions – such as caesarean section – are necessary? Prof Antoniya Georgieva explains how the ‘Fit4Labour’ software tool could help better predict how well a particular baby will cope with the contractions during labour, leading to appropriate levels of intervention and safer births.
Antoniya Georgieva
I have developed my career in biomedical research, building on my expertise in Artificial Intelligence and mathematics, but specialising in intrapartum (in labour) fetal monitoring and obstetrics. I am fully dedicated to fetal monitoring and to researching and finding new solutions to improve birth outcomes in the UK and around the world. My main research programme is to develop new digital tools to support informed decisions about how to best manage each individual delivery. These will provide midwives, doctors and families with evidence-based estimates for the risks to that baby’s health, based on large datasets and evidenced-based methods. In addition, I am leading…
