MR-Physicist

PhD

The senior MR physicist, Dr. Claus Kiefer (PhD), started his career 1997 at the University of Tubingen in the Section of Experimental Spin Resonance of the CNS, where he worked as a Research Fellow. His main area of expertise is the development of software that is used to control the scanner during imaging (sequence), and the optimization of radio frequency and gradient pulse shapes. He gained professional knowledge of sequence programming and C++ on Siemens scanners during several certificated educational courses in Erlangen (1996: Siemens PARGEN course), Cary (2001: Siemens IDEA course) and in Leipzig (1999: Max-Planck-Institute for neuropsychological science; German chapter of ISMRM). Since April 2000 he acts as the Senior MR-Physicist at the Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology at the University Hospital in Bern (Inselspital), Switzerland. Main subjects are the development of new pulse sequences for Siemens scanners with 1.5, 3.0 and 7.0T, the simulation of BLOCH equations for new types of radio frequency and gradient pulse shapes and the numerical implementation of mathematical and physical models for diffusion, magnetization transfer and flow. He is also highly experienced with the reconstruction of images using arbitrary k-space trajectories, motion and distortion correction. He recently finalized his research on model-based magnetization transfer with a Ph.D. ("MRT Messungen zur Klassifizierung von normalem und pathologischem Hirngewebe mittels Modell-basierter Magnetisierungs-Transfer Quantifizierung" ). He acted as the physicist in charge and developed the methods for the projects "Model-based Magnetization transfer imaging as a novel biomarker in Huntington’s disease” (Ruth & Arthur Scherbarth Stiftung, Grant no. EK 111/112) and “Früherkennung und Therapiekontrolle der Alzheimer’schen Erkrankung mit magnetresonanztomographischen Verfahren” (Kamillo-Eisner foundation, Grant no. EK 145/05).
In the current project about Neuronal Current Imaging (NCI; Sinergia 2018 "PREDICT AND MONITOR EPILEPSY AFTER A FIRST SEIZURE: THE SWISS-FIRST STUDY” ) he is project collaborator and responsible for the development of the required MR pulse sequences. In 2018 he got the research award for his work on NCI from the Schweizerische Epilepsie-Liga.