University Medical Center Utrecht

Dr. Nico (Cornelis) A.T. van den Berg, Associate Professor, is an expert in (oncologic) MRI, EM simulations, waveguides in MRI, RF in MRI. He acquired RF and EM modeling expertise during his PhD project on hyperthermia where, already, he managed to divert the attention towards MRI. After acquiring a VENI grant from the Dutch Foundation for Scientific Research, he managed to build up his own research group on advanced EM concepts in MRI with currently three postdocs and four PhD-students. He recently acquired a VIDI grant (EUR 800k) on non-fourier based reconstruction. One of his other research lines is investigating the use of advanced RF/microwave technologies in MRI. Examples are the development of travelling wave imaging and the development of advanced antenna arrays for body imaging at 7 Tesla. He is a renowned expert in his field and has received a significant number of invitations for lectures on large conferences. He has established further visibility in the field by organizing an international, scientific workshop (ISMRM high field workshop, Noordwijk 2013, ~200 participants) and international, educational workshops.
Role in the project : Dr. Van den Berg is the scientist leader of the UMCU and will coordinate all research and testing activities that are performed in the UMCU. Also, he will provide input to the metamaterial research partners on the development of metamaterial solutions to address the key challenges in MRI that can be overcome using advanced EM materials.

Dr. Alexander J.E. Raaijmakers is an assistant professor with a joint position at the Eindhoven University of Technology and the University Medical Center Utrecht. In Eindhoven he is a member of the research group Medical Image Analysis at the department of Biomedical Engineering where his focus is on (MRI) education. At the University Medical Center Utrecht, he is embedded in the 7 Tesla Research group of the department of radiology. His expertise is in RF engineering for ultrahigh field MRI, ultrahigh field body imaging and RF safety in MRI. One of his most pronounced achievements is the introduction of dipole antennas as coil array elements in ultrahigh field imaging. He is currently the project leader of several research projects with a total of 5 PhD students, 1 postdoc and 2 RF engineers. The main research goal is to develop supportive technology, hardware and scanning sequences that enable clinical adoption of ultrahigh field MRI for all body imaging targets such as the heart, prostate, breasts, liver and kidneys. In addition, the lessons learned in this area are translated to lower field strengths for advanced coil array design at 3T and RF safety of medical implants.

Carel van Leeuwen is a PhD student under supervision of Alexander Raaijmakers. After studying Physics & Astronomy at Utrecht University, he joined the 7 Tesla research group at the University Medical Center Utrecht during his master thesis, which concerned modelling of eddy currents due to insert gradient coils. After completing his master’s degree he joined the M-cube team as a PhD, working on RF simulation as well as engineering. His work focuses on improving the transmit efficiency and reducing SAR of RF transmit coils using metamaterials. He performs numerical simulations to find optimal coil configurations and builds and tests prototypes of new coil designs.