Role
Fred is a Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering at the Department of Engineering in the School of Science and Technology. He has expertise in biomedical digital signal and image processing, especially related to cardiac function and human factors. Fred is the module leader of Current Developments in Biomedical Engineering and Medical Signal and Image Processing.
Career overview
Fred holds a BSc in biomedical sciences and MSc in bio-electronics and nanotechnology from the University of Hasselt, Belgium. He further holds an MSc in Molecular Medicine from Cranfield University.
Fred obtained his PhD in engineering from the University of Leicester. His thesis focused on the non-invasive estimation of sources of atrial fibrillation (AF) using body surface potential mapping (BSPM).
Before starting at NTU, Fred was a research fellow at the University of Southampton, where he looked into techniques for objectively evaluating hearing function and hearing fitting based on electro-encephalography (EEG) responses to natural speech tokens.
Research areas
Cardiac Electrophysiology and Computational Cardiology: Fred has extensive experience in cardiac electrophysiology, particularly in the identification and characterisation of atrial fibrillation (AF) drivers and mechanisms. His research has contributed to the development of invasive and non-invasive approaches for mapping AF substrates using dominant frequency analysis, phase mapping, electrocardiographic imaging, and body-surface potential mapping. More recently, his research has expanded into in silico drug safety assessment. He develops and evaluates computational models of cardiac electrophysiology for the prediction of drug-induced proarrhythmic risk, cardiotoxicity, and Torsades de Pointes within the Comprehensive in vitro Proarrhythmia Assay (CiPA) framework. His work incorporates machine learning and multi-biomarker approaches to improve both predictive performance and model interpretability.
Behavioural Finance and Complex Systems: Fred has recently extended his expertise into financial decision-making, behavioural finance, and complex socio-economic systems. His work examines the determinants of household financial risk-taking, the influence of personal values, religiosity, and reward processing on financial behaviour, and the dynamics of investment decision-making. He also applies nonlinear dynamics, recurrence quantification analysis, machine learning, and time-frequency analysis to financial and cryptocurrency markets, with the aim of improving forecasting performance and understanding the underlying structure of complex market behaviour.
Human Factors: Fred's research in human factors examines physiological responses to comfort, discomfort, workload, stress, and performance. His work has included the development of objective measures of comfort and discomfort using multimodal physiological signals, including electrocardiography (ECG), electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and vibration measurements. Applications have ranged from aircraft cabin comfort and wheelchair cooling systems to seating ergonomics in eRacing environments. He is also interested in physiological markers of stress and performance in competitive environments, including esports and engineering education, with a particular focus on resilience, human performance, and objective assessment methodologies. He has also explored how hearing impairment affects cortical processing of speech and how auditory neural encoding may relate to broader cognitive processes.
Sponsors and collaborators
Fred has collaborated with several academic research groups in the UK and international, including Kumoh National Institute of Technology (KIT, South Korea), TU Delft (the Netherlands), ITAP (Oldenburg, Germany), the University of Southampton, the University of Leicester, Imperial College London, the University of Manchester and Radboud University Nijmegen (the Netherlands). He has collaborations with Interacoustics (Denmark) and other industrial collaborators.
Publications
VANHEUSDEN, F.J., KIM, A., ALMEIDA, T.P., SORIANO, D.C., AND VEROUSIS, T. 2026. Nonlinear dynamics in cryptocurrency markets: a recurrence quantification analysis approach. Financial Innovation,12, 127. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40854-026-00940-x
KIM, A., VANHEUSDEN, F.J. AND RASHID, M. 2026. Personal values, family security, and financial risk-taking: A survey of UK households. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 32(2), 100317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iedeen.2026.100317
VADAPALLI, S.K., DOYAL, S., VANHEUSDEN, F.J. BINDER, J.F. & KUSS, D.J. 2026. Exploring the impact of online misinformation on ideological polarisation and institutional distrust: an integrative review and strategic framework for counteraction. SN Social Sciences 6, 87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-026-01349-0.
HEIKHMAKHTIAR, A.K., QAULI, A.I., FU’ADAH, Y.N., PRAMUDITO, A.M., PRAMAWIJAYA, I.N., MARCELLINUS, A. KIM, Y.S., VANHEUSDEN F.J. AND LIM, K.M. 2026. Drug induced TdP risks classification assay using electro-mechanical models of human ventricle based on CiPA framework. Toxicological Research, 42, 217–233. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43188-025-00320-0
KIM, A., VANHEUSDEN, F.J. AND RASHID, M. 2025. Factors affecting UK household financial risk-taking and their implications for consumption of financial investments. International Review of Economics & Finance, 104567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2025.104567
KIM, D.H., VANHEUSDEN, F.J., AND KIM, A. 2025. Forecasting cryptocurrency markets using recurrence and time-frequency analysis-based machine learning algorithms. Finance Research Letters, 108268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2025.108268
QAULI, A.I., MAHARDIKA T, N.Q., HANUM, U.L., VANHEUSDEN, F.J., AND LIM, K.M., 2025. Elevating performance and interpretability of in silico classifiers for drug proarrhythmia risk evaluations using multi-biomarker approach with ranking algorithm. Computers Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, 108609. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2025.108609
VADAPALLI, K.S., VANHEUSDEN, F.J., BUTT, A.T., ABDELGAIED, A. MANSFIELD, N.J. and GRIGGS, K., 2025. Thriving through trials and tribulations: the impact of the ‘Grand Challenge’ on engineering student resilience skills. European Journal of Engineering Education, 50 (2), pp.381-405 https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2024.2397420
QAULI, A.I., MARCELLINUS, A. VANHEUSDEN, F.J., and LIM, K.M., 2024. Cardiotoxicity evaluation of two-drug fixed-dose combination therapy under CiPA: a computational study. Translational and Clinical Pharmacology, 32 (4), pp. 198-215. https://doi.org/10.12793/tcp.2024.32.e20
FUADAH, Y.N., PRAMUDITO, M.A., FIRDAUS, L. VANHEUSDEN, F.J., and LIM, K.M., 2024. QSAR classification modeling using machine learning with a consensus-based approach for multivariate chemical hazard end points. ACS Omega, 9 (51), pp. 50796–50808. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.4c09356
VANHEUSDEN, F.J., VADAPALLI, K.S., RASHID, M., GRIFFITHS, M. and KIM, A., 2024. Religiosity, financial risk taking and reward processing: an experimental study. Journal of Gambling Studies, published. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-024-10324-4
VANHEUSDEN, F.J. and OGILVIE, M.O, 2024. Objective evaluation of seat discomfort on eRacing performance. WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment and Rehabilitation, in press. https://doi.org/10.1177/10519815241290330
DEOISRES, S., LU, Y., VANHEUSDEN, F.J., BELL, S.L. and SIMPSON, D.M., 2023. Continuous speech with pauses inserted between words increases cortical tracking of speech envelope. PLoS ONE, 18 (7), e0289288. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289288
AGGARWAL, G., MANSFIELD, N., VANHEUSDEN, F. and FAULKNER, S., 2022. Human comfort model of noise and vibration for sustainable design of the turboprop aircraft cabin. Sustainability, 14 (15): 9199. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159199
CHU, G.S., LI, X., STAFFORD, P.J., VANHEUSDEN, F.J., SALINET, J., ALMEIDA, T.P., DASTAGIR, N., SANDILANDS, A.J., KIRCHHOF, P., SCHLINDWEIN, F.S. and NG, G.A., 2022. Simultaneous whole-chamber non-contact mapping of highest dominant frequency sites during persistent atrial fibrillation: a prospective ablation study. Frontiers in Physiology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.826449
GRIGGS, K.E. and VANHEUSDEN, F.J., 2022. Integrated fan cooling of the lower back for wheelchair users. Journal of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Engineering, 9. https://doi.org/10.1177/20556683221126994
SALINET, J., MOLERO, R., SCHLINDWEIN, F.S., KAREL, J., RODRIGO, M., LUIS ROJO-ÁLVAREZ, J., BERENFELD, O., CLIMENT, A., ZENGER, B., VANHEUSDEN, F.J., PAREDES, J.G., MACLEOD, R., ATIENZA, F., GUILLEM, M.S., CLUITMANS, M. and BONIZZI, P., 2021. Electrocardiographic imaging for atrial fibrillation: a perspective from computer models and animal experiments to clinical value. Frontiers in Physiology, 12: 653013. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.653013
LI, X., CHU, G.S., ALMEIDA, T.P., VANHEUSDEN, F., SALINET, J., DASTAGIR, N., MISTRY, A.R., VALI, Z., SIDHU, B., STAFFORD, P.J., SCHLINDWEIN, F.S. and NG, G.A., 2021. Automatic extraction of recurrent patterns of high dominant frequency mapping during human persistent atrial fibrillation. Frontiers in Physiology, 12: 649486. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.649486
ABEYWARDENA, C.L., VANHEUSDEN, F.J., WALKER, K.F., ARM, R. and ZHANG, Q., 2020. Fetal movement counting using optical fibre sensors. Sensors, 21 (1): 48. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21010048
VANHEUSDEN, F., KEGLER, M., IRELAND, K., GEORGA, C., SIMPSON, D., REICHENBACH, T. and BELL, S.L., 2020. Hearing aids do not alter cortical entrainment to speech at audible levels in mild-to-moderately hearing-impaired subjects. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 14: 109. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2020.00109
KIM, A. and VANHEUSDEN, F.J., 2019. Yin-Yang representation of financial crisis: a Korean perspective. International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy, 12 (4), pp. 385-408. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMCP.2019.103177
VANHEUSDEN, F.J., CHESNAYE, M.A., SIMPSON, D.M. and BELL, S.L., 2019. Envelope frequency following responses are stronger for high-pass than low-pass filtered vowels. International Journal of Audiology, 58 (6), pp. 355-362. https://doi.org/10.1080/14992027.2018.1562243
VANHEUSDEN, F.J., BELL, S.L., CHESNAYE, M.A. and SIMPSON, D.M., 2019. Improved detection of vowel envelope frequency following responses using Hotelling’s T2 analysis. Ear and Hearing: the Official Journal of the American Auditory Society, 40 (1), pp. 116-127. https://doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0000000000000598
VANHEUSDEN, F.J., CHU, G.S., LI, X., SALINET, J., ALMEIDA, T.P., DASTAGIR, N., STAFFORD, P.J., NG, G.A. and SCHLINDWEIN, F.S., 2018. Systematic differences of non-invasive dominant frequency estimation compared to invasive dominant frequency estimation in atrial fibrillation. Computers in Biology and Medicine: an International Journal, 104, pp. 299-309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compbiomed.2018.11.017
SALINET, J., SCHLINDWEIN, F.S., STAFFORD, P., ALMEIDA, T.P., LI, X., VANHEUSDEN, F.J., GUILLEM, M.S. and NG, G.A., 2017. Propagation of meandering rotors surrounded by areas of high dominant frequency in persistent atrial fibrillation. Heart Rhythm, 14 (9), pp. 1269-1278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2017.04.031
LI, X., SALINET, J.L., ALMEIDA, T.P., VANHEUSDEN, F.J., CHU, G.S., NG, G.A. and SCHLINDWEIN, F.S., 2017. An interactive platform to guide catheter ablation in human persistent atrial fibrillation using dominant frequency, organization and phase mapping. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, 141, pp. 83-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2017.01.011
ALMEIDA, T.P., CHU, G.S., SALINET, J.L., VANHEUSDEN, F.J., LI, X., TUAN, J.H., STAFFORD, P.J., NG, G.A. and SCHLINDWEIN, F.S., 2016. Minimizing discordances in automated classification of fractionated electrograms in human persistent atrial fibrillation. Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing, 54 (11), pp. 1695-1706. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-016-1456-2