Stefan van der Sar

Stefan works as a PhD candidate in the Medical Physics and Technology (MP&T) section on silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) – based scintillation detectors with X-ray photon counting capability. Spectral X-ray imaging with photon counting detectors is widely considered to be the next major breakthrough in medical X-ray imaging. The investigated scintillator & SiPM approach can be a stable and cost-effective alternative to the more frequently taken direct conversion approach based on CdTe or CdZnTe (CZT) detectors. Stefan’s research is a combination of modelling / simulations and experiments. It is focussed on systematically defining requirements on the scintillator and the SiPM as well as on building small prototype imaging systems, which can be used for proof-of-concept experiments. An industrial partner is also involved in the research project.

Biography
Stefan holds an MSc degree in Applied Physics from Delft University of Technology. In 2018, he graduated with a thesis about SiPM-based scintillation detectors for proton range verification by prompt-gamma detection. This research was also conducted within the MP&T section. Afterwards, Stefan stayed with MP&T to work on his current PhD project.

More information
Highly motivated students with a clear interest in the physics of medical imaging are invited to contact Stefan for graduation projects.