PhD Scholarship for a Design-Led Research Program on the Future of CT Imaging in Distributed Care
Job No: 680923
Location: Caulfield campus
Employment Type: Full-time
Duration: 3-year fixed-term appointment
Remuneration: AUD $50,000 pa stipend, tax-free
- Tuition Fees: Fully covered
- Resources: Access to fabrication, prototyping, and simulation facilities, as well as clinical testing sites and international collaboration opportunities
Program Overview
Monash University’s Design Health Collab is offering a fully funded PhD opportunity for a candidate to undertake applied research in intelligent task guidance technologies that support CT scanning by generalist clinicians working in distributed healthcare settings.
Design Health Collab is a cross-disciplinary design research lab dedicated to the advancement of healthcare technologies, systems, and services through applied design practice. With a portfolio spanning mobile imaging, wearable technologies, and distributed models of care, DHC leads collaborative research across healthcare, government, and industry.
In this context, intelligent task guidance refers to the design of technologies and systems that assist non-specialist healthcare providers, such as a primary care physician, to safely and effectively perform clinical procedures that fall within an expanded scope of capability. In this case, the focus is on diagnostic imaging. The aim is to extend the reach of diagnostic and treatment services in environments where specialist support is unavailable, without compromising safety, accuracy, or quality of care.
The PhD is funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) as part of its PARADIGM program, a multi-institutional initiative to develop deployable, hospital-grade care systems for underserved and remote communities. The candidate will be embedded within this program, working in parallel with a multidisciplinary team designing a ruggedised mobile CT scanner in collaboration with Micro-X Inc., while engaging closely with clinical stakeholders and system engineers.
This research does not centre on the hardware design but on the technologies and systems that support its use, including AI, embedded interfaces, and mixed-reality tools. The emphasis is on designing advanced interaction models and procedural guidance systems that enable safe, effective, and intuitive use of imaging equipment by non-specialists.
Research Scope
The successful candidate will undertake original, practice-based research across areas such as:
- Task Guidance Design: How can procedural support be embedded within the mobile care environment to scaffold operator confidence and reduce cognitive load?
- Interaction Sequencing: What models of interface flow and human-system interaction best support safe use under pressure or with limited training?
- Technological Integration: What roles might advancing technologies, such as artificial intelligence, mixed reality displays, context-aware prompts, or embedded feedback, play in supporting diagnostic imaging workflows?
- Error Mitigation and Trust: How can interfaces and interaction systems reduce the likelihood of operator error while building trust in semi-automated diagnostic tools?
Your research will include speculative design, rapid prototyping, and real-world evaluation. The aim is to generate outcomes that inform the current CT scanner in development and shape the future of imaging modalities intended for distributed or autonomous operation.
Supervision and Research Environment
- Lab: Design Health Collab, Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture, Monash University
- Lab Director: Professor Daphne Flynn
- PhD Supervisors: Dr Nyein Chan Aung, Dr Myra Thiessen, and Dr Indae Hwang
- Industry Collaborators: Micro-X Inc. (SeaTac, WA) and ARPA-H (USA)
- Setting: Embedded within a large-scale, international, design-engineering-clinical collaboration
Candidate Profile
We welcome applications from industry professionals as well as academic researchers. This opportunity is best suited to candidates with demonstrated experience in:
- Design-led projects
- Designing for complex or high-consequence systems
- Human-centred product, service, or interaction design in healthcare, defence, or critical infrastructure
- Applied human-computer interaction or cognitive ergonomics
- Designing for safety, usability, or performance in constrained or distributed environments
Applicants should demonstrate strong skills in prototyping, systems thinking, and collaborative research. Prior experience in healthcare is beneficial but not essential.
Funding and Support
- Stipend: AUD $50,000 pa (2025 rate), tax-free
- Tuition Fees: Fully covered
- Resources: Access to fabrication, prototyping, and simulation facilities, as well as clinical testing sites and international collaboration opportunities
Application Process
This position follows a two-stage selection process.
Step 1: Expression of Interest (EOI)
Submit an EOI via the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture at Monash:
monash.edu/mada/future-students/graduate-research/apply. Your EOI should include:
A brief research proposal (1–2 pages) that addresses the following questions:
- What do you see as the critical design challenges or opportunities in enabling non-specialists to operate CT imaging in mobile healthcare environments?
- What kinds of design methods or research strategies would you use in this challenge? For example:
- Would you begin with workflow mapping, interface audits, or observational fieldwork?
- Would you prototype interface ideas early or conduct user scenario testing in a simulation?
- What role might participatory or co-design approaches play?
- What types of technologies or interface modes do you believe are promising in this context? You don’t need to commit to a solution or specific technologies. We are interested in how you might explore possibilities. These might include:
- Advanced UIs beyond a touch screen, audio prompts, visual overlays, physical affordances, decision trees, or conversational tools
- What criteria would guide your design approach? Would you prioritise ease of learning, error reduction, operator confidence, trust in system feedback, or something else?
- What excites you about practice-based research in a healthcare environment? Where do you think your work could meaningfully inform both design and deployment?
A CV and design portfolio, which should include:
- Relevant professional and academic work
- Evidence of process capability (e.g., user flows, workshop facilitation, technical integration)
- A short statement of motivation explaining your interest in healthcare design and in this specific opportunity
Step 2: Interview and Proposal Development
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to meet with the supervision team to discuss their proposal before being invited to submit a full application.
Enquiries: For project-specific enquiries, contact Dr Nyein Chan Aung, Program Director – Imaging Technology Design Research
Monash University Design Health Collab, nyein.aung1@monash.edu
Applications Close: Thursday 31 July 2025, 11:55pm AEST
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