Alex Houben

As a software project manager, my responsibility is to ensure the timely development of software in accordance with specifications. To achieve this, I manage a team comprising individuals from universities in Belgium and Italy, as well as from Microchip, the embedded hardware supplier. The medical research device being developed aims to detect early onset of atherosclerosis without the need for invasive medical procedures.

During my tenure at Medtronic, I contributed to the development of a neurostimulator named Percept for deep brain stimulation (DBS), featuring BrainSense™ technology. Percept is an innovative DBS device designed to address chronic pain by providing physicians with patient-specific brain signals, thereby enabling a personalized and data-driven neurostimulation treatment. This project involved two primary objectives: Customizing and enhancing the Medtronic test framework using C# Conducting firmware testing, identifying and correcting any errors encountered in the process using C#. I also played a significant role in the development of Discovery Link, a web based platform that facilitates the efficient analysis of device data from thousands of patients who have been implanted with a Medtronic device and monitored through CareLink. The platform primarily uses MSSQL. Furthermore, I was involved in the development of testing software for diabetes using Java. This software was designed for one of the largest diabetes specialist centers in Europe, with the goal of achieving optimal glucose control and minimizing the development of chronic complications for every diabetes patient.

Some of my notable projects include: Developing a secure payment data transfer system for banks over the internet. The system utilized two unique keys - a public and non-public key - generated using Excel and VBA. This ensured that each message sent by the client was received as a unique packet with no repetition of data, thus enhancing security and preventing recognition of structures. Creating a Donor Transport monitoring unit to register the position and temperature of a Donor Transport Case. The unit performed measurements of various parameters such as temperature, battery, and voltage, and sent a warning SMS in case of any calamities. The system had a normal and encrypted (not visible to the user) log file and was built using embedded software (Microcode PICBASIC) and desktop readout (VB). Developing an hours registration system for invoicing and generating sales charts to show expected earnings per 4 weeks, project, client, employee, etc. Designing and implementing embedded software to control a solar-powered swamp cooler for the world's largest provider in Phoenix, AZ USA. The system was energy-efficient and self-regulating, with measurements of temperature, humidity, pump, fan, and automatic rinse. The status was displayed via an OLed display, and the settings were controlled by only 3 push buttons. Creating a CV <> Job matcher algorithm to match candidates with job applications from a database of about 40,000 CVs. The system had a user interface for manual search in the database for suitable candidates. With this system, I was able to quickly find and send an email with a cover letter and resume to one or more suitable candidates while the customer was still on the phone.