Berlin

The Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (B.U.F.F.) is located on the campus of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) in Berlin-Buch. Since 2008, the MDC and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) are jointly operating a first-generation 7T whole-body MRI scanner (Siemens Magnetom 7T), the first 7T with a multi-channel transmission system in Germany at the time. The MDC is one of the most important centers for biomedical research and employs around 1600 people. The Experimental Ultrahigh Field Magnetic Resonance group there, headed by Prof Thoralf Niendorf, comprises around 20 employees. The research focuses on the characterization of (patho)physiological processes and biomedical mechanisms with the aim of translating the results of basic research into (pre)clinical studies.

PTB is Germany's national metrology institute and maintains the Biomedical Magnetic Resonance department at its Berlin site, which specializes in the fields of MR safety, quantitative MR imaging and ultrahigh field MRI.

Research areas

• Development of RF coils and related components
• study the safety of implants
• examination of the microstructure of tissue, for example, of the heart muscle
• X-nuclei imaging
• ophthalmological MRI
• pulse sequence development
• functional image contrasts (e.g. Diffusion, T2 *)
• electromagnetic and thermal simulations and validation
• MR thermometry and integrated hyperthermia (Thermal MR)

Facilities

8-channel Parallel Transmit System
40 mT/m, 200mT/m/ms gradient coil
4-, 8-, 16- and 32-channel heart and body coils, various head coils (from 1Tx32Rx to 8Rx8Tx), eye coil, knee coil, 31P, 19F and 23Na coils
Physiological monitoring: ECG, oxygen saturation, respiration, phonocardiogram
Contrast medium injector
Hyperthermia applicator

Contact

Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility
Max-Delbrück-Centrum für Molekulare Medizin (MDC)
Robert-Rössle-Str. 10
13125 Berlin-Buch

Prof. Dr. Thoralf Niendorf
Email: thoralf.niendorf@mdc-berlin.de
Phone: +49 30 9406 4505
Fax: +49 30 9406 49178
https://buffportal.mdc-berlin.de/welcome_page

Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
Abbestraße 2–12
10587 Berlin

Dr Sebastian Schmitter
sebastian.schmitter@ptb.de
Phone: +49 30 3481-7367
https://www.ptb.de/cms/en/ptb/fachabteilungen/abt8/fb-81.html