Willi A. Kalender and Thomas G. Flohr Named Co-Recipients of the 2023 SCCT Achenbach Pioneer Award

Arlington, VA (May 3, 2023) – The Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) is proud to announce that Willi A. Kalender, PhD, and Thomas G. Flohr, PhD, have been named as co-recipients of the 2023 SCCT Achenbach Pioneer Award in Cardiovascular CT. This award is given annually to individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of cardiovascular CT and have been recognized as pioneers in the advancement of the technology.

"We are thrilled to honor Dr. Kalender and Dr. Flohr as co-recipients of the 2023 SCCT Achenbach Pioneer Award in Cardiovascular CT," said Brian Ghoshhajra, MD, MSCCT, president of the SCCT. "Their groundbreaking work has transformed the field of CT imaging and has led to significant improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. We offer them both our congratulations and gratitude on behalf of our members for their pioneering visions and contributions.”

Dr. Kalender is a professor and former chairman of the Institute of Medical Physics at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany, and is acknowledged as a leading authority in the field of CT imaging. He is recognized for his contributions to the development of CT, including ECG-gated cardiac imaging, dual source CT and in particular, volumetric spiral computed tomography, leading to significantly reduced exam times, reduced motion artifacts and improved image quality.

Dr. Kalender's research has also significantly improved patient radiation protection by reducing dose without impairing image quality. He has published numerous papers and textbooks on the subject and has developed innovative techniques to reduce radiation dose in CT imaging.

Dr. Flohr is head of CT Physics, Application Predevelopment and Global Clinical Collaborations at Siemens Healthineers in Forchheim, Germany, and adjunct professor for Medical Physics at Eberhard-Karls-University Tuebingen. He is recognized for his contributions to the development of computed tomography that defines CT today, including multi-slice CT, dual source CT and photon counting detector technologies that have changed clinical practice.

Dr. Flohr’s career-long inventions have made it possible for cardiac CT to provide wider clinical applications leading to better patient outcomes, particularly in the development of ultra-fast CT scanners that can acquire images of the heart and blood vessels in a matter of seconds.

Named in honor of SCCT founding member and first president, Dr. Stephan Achenbach, the 2023 Achenbach Award will be presented to Dr. Kalendar and Dr. Flohr at the SCCT 18th Annual Scientific Meeting (SCCT2023) opening session on Friday, July 28 at the Heinz Convention Center in Boston, Mass.

For more information about the Achenbach Award, please visit https://scct.org/AchenbachAward.

###

About the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography

Founded in 2005, the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) is the international professional society devoted to improving health outcomes through effective use of cardiovascular computed tomography (CCT). SCCT is a community of physicians, scientists and technologists from over 85 countries advocating for access, research, education and clinical excellence in the use of CCT. For more information, please visit www.SCCT.org.

About the 18th Annual Scientific Meeting of SCCT (SCCT2023)

SCCT2023 – the preeminent meeting focused on cardiovascular CT – will be held July 27 - 30 in Boston, Mass. The SCCT Annual Scientific Meeting is designed to engage physicians, trainees, technologists and healthcare professionals in a complete overview of the cardiovascular CT field. Planned sessions are targeted for all levels, from new practitioners to experienced providers. Sessions range from general overviews to state-of-the-art research and expert discussions. For more information, please visit www.SCCT.org/SCCT2023.

###