Biography

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Dr. Gerald Greil studied medicine in Regensburg, Munich, Germany, at Oxford in London, UK, in Boston and San Francisco, and in Sweden (Lund). He got his degree in Pediatrics, Pediatric Intensive Care, Neonatology and Pediatric Cardiology from the University of Tüebingen, Germany and did a Senior Fellowship in Pediatric Cardiac MRI at Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston. Since November 2006 Dr. Greil has been a Consultant at Evelina Children’s Hospital (Guy’s & St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust) in London, UK and Clinical Lead of the Congenital Cardiac MRI Imaging Service. He was affiliated with King’s College London, where he was working as a clinical academic.

Part of his research is diagnostic and interventional cardiac MRI in patients with acquired and congenital heart disease using XMR systems. In this setting, 3D datasets (echocardiography, MRI or MDCT) are used for image fusion for diagnostic, electrophysiology and interventional cardiac catheterization procedures. Also invasive pressure data and non-invasive imaging data are combined for precise assessment of the cardiovascular system. For assessment of ventricular function, Dr. Greil also used reduced data acquisition methods (e.g. kt-BLAST). Dr. Greil focuses on vascular imaging of the lumen and vessel wall including the coronary arteries using new contrast agents, 32 channel coil technology and high field MRI technology. He is implementing these basic science developments into clinical practice, for example, in patients with Kawasaki disease. Currently there is a close cooperation with Great Ormond Street Hospital London to evaluate novel imaging technologies for non-invasive assessment of the cardiovascular system including imaging of the coronary artery lumen and vessel wall for improved follow-up of patients after heart transplantation.

In collaboration with other institutions (DKFZ Heidelberg, Germany and the Cardiac Registry, Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA) Dr. Greil used high resolution 3D images of the heart and great vessels including multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) datasets for 3D virtual and real stereolithographic reconstructions of rare congenital heart defects for teaching, clinical use and research. These datasets were implemented in novel techniques such as virtual surgery. MDCT has been investigated for special indications (e.g. pulmonary vascular blood supply in patients with pulmonary atresia) as part of Dr. Greil’s research. Currently Dr. Greil is investigating with MRI cardiovascular morphology and function as well as the water-fat distribution within the human body in twins in cooperation with the Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology Department, King's College London, to assess the influence of environmental and genetic risk factors of cardiovascular disease.

Education

Medical School
Technical University of Munich (1994)
Internship
German Heart Center Munich (1995), Pediatric Cardiology
Residency
University Children's Hospital Tubingen (1998), Pediatrics
Fellowship
Children's Hospital of Boston (2001), Cardiac Advanced Imaging
Fellowship
University Children's Hospital Tubingen (2006), Pediatric Cardiology
Other Post Graduate Training
University of Tubingen (2006), Pediatrics

Research Interest

  • Improved diagnosis in patients with acquired and congenital heart disease (CHD) using contrast agents
  • Interventional Cardiac MRI, MRI hybrid laboratories (XMR) and MRI compatible catheter material
  • Magnetic Resonance Coronary Angiography (MRCA)
  • Morphology and function assessed by whole heart imaging
  • Patient-specific cardiovascular modeling and simulation
  • The use of Multidetector Computed Tomography (MDCTP) in patients with acquired and congenital heart disease
  • Virtual and real reproductions of heart specimens/virtual surgery

Publications

Featured Publications LegendFeatured Publications

Feasibility of 3D black-blood variable refocusing angle fast spin echo cardiovascular magnetic resonance for visualization of the whole heart and great vessels in congenital heart disease.
Henningsson M, Zahr RA, Dyer A, Greil GF, Burkhardt B, Tandon A, Hussain T J Cardiovasc Magn Reson 2018 11 20 1 76
Dual-phase whole-heart imaging using image navigation in congenital heart disease.
Moyé DM, Hussain T, Botnar RM, Tandon A, Greil GF, Dyer AK, Henningsson M BMC Med Imaging 2018 Oct 18 1 36
Exploring kinetic energy as a new marker of cardiac function in the single ventricle circulation.
Wong J, Chabiniok R, Tibby SM, Pushparajah K, Sammut E, Celermajer D, Giese D, Hussain T, Greil GF, Schaeffter T, Razavi R J. Appl. Physiol. 2018 Sep 125 3 889-900
The importance of qualitative and quantitative regional wall motion abnormality assessment at rest in pediatric coronary allograft vasculopathy.
Dedieu N, Silva Vieira M, Fenton M, Wong J, Botnar R, Burch M, Greil G, Hussain T Pediatr Transplant 2018 08 22 5 e13208
Arterial stiffening is a heritable trait associated with arterial dilation but not wall thickening: a longitudinal study in the twins UK cohort.
Cecelja M, Jiang B, Keehn L, Hussain T, Silva Vieira M, Phinikaridou A, Greil G, Spector TD, Chowienczyk P Eur. Heart J. 2018 Jun 39 24 2282-2288
Improved coronary magnetic resonance angiography using gadobenate dimeglumine in pediatric congenital heart disease.
Silva Vieira M, Henningsson M, Dedieu N, Vassiliou VS, Bell A, Mathur S, Pushparajah K, Figueroa CA, Hussain T, Botnar R, Greil GF Magn Reson Imaging 2018 06 49 47-54
Rationalising the use of cardiac catheterisation before Glenn completion.
James L, Tandon A, Nugent A, Malik S, Ramaciotti C, Greil G, Zabala L, Forbess J, Hussain T Cardiol Young 2018 Mar 1-6
Ventricular function and vascular dimensions after Norwood and hybrid palliation of hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
Latus H, Nassar MS, Wong J, Hachmann P, Bellsham-Revell H, Hussain T, Apitz C, Salih C, Austin C, Anderson D, Yerebakan C, Akintuerk H, Bauer J, Razavi R, Schranz D, Greil G Heart 2017 Jul
Erratum to: Influence of acquired obesity on coronary vessel wall late gadolinium enhancement in discordant monozygote twins.
Makowski MR, Jansen CHP, Ebersberger U, Schaeffter T, Razavi R, Mangino M, Spector TD, Botnar RM, Greil GF Eur Radiol 2017 Jul
Pressure-volume loop-derived cardiac indices during dobutamine stress: a step towards understanding limitations in cardiac output in children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
Wong J, Pushparajah K, de Vecchi A, Ruijsink B, Greil GF, Hussain T, Razavi R Int. J. Cardiol. 2017 Mar 230 439-446

Books

Featured Books Legend Featured Books

Honors & Awards

  • Local Clinical Excellence Award (LCEA)
    Guy's & St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London (2014)
  • Local Clinical Excellence Award (LCEA)
    Guy's & St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London (2011)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

  • Association of European Pediatric Cardiology (AEPC) (2008)
  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Paediatrische Kardiologie (DGPK) (2008)
  • Editorial Board, European Heart Journal, Cardiovascular Imaging (2011)
  • Pool of Scientific Advisors on Risk Assessment of European Union (2008)
  • Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) (2007)
  • Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) (2008)