Frank Beckers graduated from Electronic Engineering at Group T in 1997. "For my company project, I ended up in the Experimental Cardiology lab at Gasthuisberg, one of Leuven ’s University Hospitals. There I first became fascinated by research into heart rhythm variability, at the time still very new."
A unique PhD
He couldn’t shake it off and so he decided to continue studying. In 2002, he obtained his PhD in Medical Science in the Faculty of Medicine at K.U.Leuven. In itself, very unusual because engineers who are doctors are few and far between.
Ongoing research
"Heart rhythm variability plays an important role in diagnosing heart conditions," Frank explains. But this is exactly where the problem lies, because to make a correct diagnosis, the variability must be shown as accurately as possible. To date, there has not yet been enough research."
A unique opportunity
When the Group T alumnus was given the chance to monitor the heartbeat of Frank De Winne while in space, it was a gift from heaven. "Astronauts suffer in particular from dizziness when they return to earth—just like heart patients. The source is to be found in the heart rhythm that changes during the time spent in space."
During his research, Frank mainly looked for techniques to resolve the dizziness and thus also the variable heart rhythm.
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