Doctoral Candidate Advanced Implant Process Technologies

Change people’s lives and love what you do Cochlear develops world-leading medical devices that help people hear. As a top 100 medical device company and market‑leader in implantable hearing devices, more people choose a Cochlear‑branded cochlear implant system than any other. Our employees tell us that the number one reason they enjoy working for Cochlear is the opportunity to make a difference to people’s lives.

MicroMan4Health_DC1: Digital Twin for micro‑laser welding of titanium for active medical implants

MicroMan4Health is a Horizon Europe MSCA Doctoral Network developing data‑centric micromanufacturing technologies for next‑generation healthcare and MedTech applications (https://www.microman4health.eu/). MicroMan4Health pioneers a data‑centric micromanufacturing framework for added value in the healthcare and MedTech sector. By transforming process‑centric manufacturing into knowledge‑driven digital manufacturing, the project enables intelligent, traceable and clinically relevant production of next‑generation healthcare devices.

How do micro‑scale features, structures and surface properties produced by these diverse micromanufacturing processes influence biological, mechanical, fluidic and electrochemical performance in key medical and diagnostic applications?

MicroMan4Health therefore brings together 15 dedicated doctoral research projects, each addressing a specific micromanufacturing process within a coherent methodological umbrella.

At micro‑ and sub‑millimetre scales, manufacturing phenomena cannot be fully described by textbook equations and require dedicated research, advanced experimentation and data‑centric modelling strategies.

The project addresses a wide range of healthcare applications including cochlear and orthopaedic implants, neural sensing electrodes, dental prostheses and gears, drug‑delivery micro‑carriers, micro‑injectors, bone screws, microfluidic systems and point‑of‑care diagnostic devices.

This position “Doctoral Candidate Advanced Implant Process Technologies” (DC1) is one of 15 open doctoral candidate positions. The successful candidate will be hosted by Cochlear’s Advanced Implant Technology Department in Cochlear’s European innovation hub in Mechelen, Belgium, a vibrant lab with a long history in participating in EU funded research programmes. Cochlear Ltd is the global leader in implantable hearing solutions, such as cochlear implants.

One of the core competences of the local Advanced Innovation team is the design, development, prototyping and validation of new disruptive concepts for acoustic active medical devices; Examples include Codacs- a middle ear actuator; OSIA a skull‑based piezo‑electric implantable actuator, the Carina implantable microphone or more recently implantable microphones for Totally Implantable Cochlear Implants TICI’s.

During the development of each of these 4 products the team has built up an extensive experience with the joining processes needed to assemble these micro‑precision implants.

The supervisors in Cochlear are ir. Stijn Eeckhoudt, and dr. ir. Guy Fierens.

The project will be conducted in close collaboration with the Manufacturing Processes and Systems (MaPS) lab at the nearby University of Leuven (Prof. Sylvie Castagne), where the candidate will also pursue a doctoral degree.

During the research programme, the doctoral candidate will develop and validate a high‑fidelity digital twin for micro‑laser welding of titanium components used in active medical implants. It aims to model the physical phenomena behind micro‑precision laser welding, verify the model by comparing predicted functional characteristics with real measurements, and evaluate how geometric tolerances of mating parts influence weld quality.

The digital twins will be used in the development of several new (totally implantable) products at Cochlear.

Cochlear also has several strategic investments in start‑ups in head‑based active medical implants where we see a growing need for precision joining techniques and extensive miniaturization.

Insights obtained in the welding process will create a spillover effect from the Cochlear product portfolio towards the therapies that are being developed by our partners.

Key objectives:

• Development of a digital twin for micro laser‑welded assemblies for active (acoustic) implantable assemblies based on a deep understanding of the physical phenomena involved
• Validation of digital twin by matching the prediction of functional characteristics with physical measurements
• Analysis of the sensitivity to geometric tolerances of mating parts using the digital twin model.

Expected results:

• Validated digital twin of one or more micro‑precision laser weld interfaces for existing design
• Methodology for sensitivity analysis of the effect of geometric tolerances using the digital twin