Supervisors: Prof. Nomdo M. Jansonius (www.nomdo.nl/research.htm),

Prof. Teus van Laar (www.movementdisordersgroningen.com)

Prof. Frans W. Cornelissen (www.visualneuroscience.nl)

Background & Interests

My name is Tuomas Heikka. I obtained my BSc and MSc in Biophysics from the University of Oulu, Finland in 2016. The main emphasis in my studies was in neurobiophysics and medical technology. During my studies I worked for 18 months as a research assistant in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 66 (NFBC 66) project investigating segmentation methods that were used in MRI analyses. Working with segmentation softwares made me want to acquire a deeper understanding on how these algorithms are built. My research interests lie heavily on different approaches for utilizing medical imaging data. In September 2016 I joined the Laboratory of Experimental Ophthalmology in Groningen to do a PhD.

Aim of the project

In Glaucoma the retinal ganglion cells (RGC) die out causing the axons in the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) to also diminish. When estimating glaucomatous damage in the retina, it is important to be able to reliably say what the exact thickness of different layers are and how much they change even in short timescale. Current software approaches tend to overestimate the RNFL and the inner plexiform layer (IPL) thicknesses and to underestimate the RGCL thickness.The aim of the project is to overcome these issues with layer thickness estimation in order to improve the usability of OCT in Glaucoma diagnosis and follow-up. I will be using the data from the cohort of Groningen Longitudinal Glaucoma study in a longitudinal setting in order to quantify my findings.

Personal Links:

Reseach Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tuomas_Heikka

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/tuomasheikka