Franz Pfeiffer

Short CV

Franz Pfeiffer (b. 1972) studied physics at Munich’s Ludwig Maximilian University (1999) and was awarded doctorates by the Institut Laue-Langevin (Grenoble) and the University of Saarbrücken (2003). Following subsequent positions as a post-doc in Urbana-Champaign (USA) and as a member of scientific staff at the Paul Scherrer Institute (Switzerland, 2008), he initially assumed the position of assistant professor at École Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne (2008). He was appointed to the Chair of Biomedical Physics at TUM in 2009.


Selected Awards

  • 2011, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation (DFG)
  • 2010, Röntgen Prize of Justus Liebig University Giessen
  • 2010, National Latsis Prize of the Swiss National Science Foundation
  • 2009, Starting Grant Award of the European Research Council

Research Interests

Franz Pfeiffer conducts research on biomedical X-ray physics. The focus of this research is new imaging methods for improved early diagnosis and detailed studies of illnesses such as cancer and osteoporosis. His scientific work extends from fundamentally oriented research with high-energy X-rays in large international research centers to applied research on new concepts in medical technology.


Selected Publications

  • Dierolf, Martin; Menzel, Andreas; Thibault, Pierre; Schneider, Philipp; Kewish, Cameron M.; Wepf, Roger; Bunk, Oliver; Pfeiffer, Franz: Ptychographic X-ray computed tomography at the nanoscale. Nature 467 (7314), 2010, 436-439.
  • Pfeiffer, F.; Bech, M.; Bunk, O.; Kraft, P.; Eikenberry, E. F.; Brönnimann, Ch; Grünzweig, C.; David, C.: Hard-X-ray dark-field imaging using a grating interferometer. Nature materials 7 (2), 2008, 134-137.
  • Thibault, Pierre; Dierolf, Martin; Menzel, Andreas; Bunk, Oliver; David, Christian; Pfeiffer, Franz: High-resolution scanning x-ray diffraction microscopy. Science (New York, N.Y.) 321 (5887), 2008, 379-382.
  • Pfeiffer, Franz; Weitkamp, Timm; Bunk, Oliver; David, Christian: Phase retrieval and differential phase-contrast imaging with low-brilliance X-ray sources. Nature Physics 2 (4), 2006, 258-261.
  • Pfeiffer, F.; David, C.; Burghammer, M.; Riekel, C.; Salditt, T.: Two-dimensional x-ray waveguides and point sources. Science (New York, N.Y.) 297 (5579), 2002, 230-234.

Publications as TUM-IAS-Fellow

2022

  • Frank, Manuela; Gassert, Florian; Urban, Theresa; Willer, Konstantin; Noichl, Wolfgang; Schick, Rafael; Schultheiß, Manuel; Viermetz, Manuel; Gleich, Bernhard; De Marco, Fabio; Herzen, Julia; Koehler, Thomas; Engel, Klaus; Renger, Bernhard; Gassert, Felix; Sauter, Andreas; Fingerle, Alexander; Haller, Bernhard; Makowski, Marcus; Pfeiffer, Franz: Dark-field Chest X-ray Imaging for the Assessment of COVID‑19‑Pneumonia. , 2022 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Urban, Theresa; Gassert, Florian T.; Frank, Manuela; Willer, Konstantin; Noichl, Wolfgang; Buchberger, Philipp; Schick, Rafael C.; Koehler, Thomas; Bodden, Jannis H.; Fingerle, Alexander A.; Sauter, Andreas P.; Makowski, Marcus R.; Pfeiffer, Franz; Pfeiffer, Daniela: Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment of Emphysema Using Dark-Field Chest Radiography. Radiology 303 (1), 2022, 119-127 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Viermetz, Manuel; Gustschin, Nikolai; Schmid, Clemens; Haeusele, Jakob; Teuffenbach, Maximilian von; Meyer, Pascal; Bergner, Frank; Lasser, Tobias; Proksa, Roland; Koehler, Thomas; Pfeiffer, Franz: Dark-field computed tomography reaches the human scale. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119 (8), 2022, e2118799119 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )

2021

  • Willer, Konstantin; Fingerle, Alexander A; Noichl, Wolfgang; De Marco, Fabio; Frank, Manuela; Urban, Theresa; Schick, Rafael; Gustschin, Alex; Gleich, Bernhard; Herzen, Julia; Koehler, Thomas; Yaroshenko, Andre; Pralow, Thomas; Zimmermann, Gregor S; Renger, Bernhard; Sauter, Andreas P; Pfeiffer, Daniela; Makowski, Marcus R; Rummeny, Ernst J; Grenier, Philippe A; Pfeiffer, Franz: X-ray dark-field chest imaging for detection and quantification of emphysema in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a diagnostic accuracy study. The Lancet Digital Health 3 (11), 2021, e733-e744 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )

2019

  • Gradl, R.; Morgan, K. S.; Dierolf, M.; Jud, C.; Hehn, L.; Gunther, B.; Moller, W.; Kutschke, D.; Yang, L.; Stoeger, T.; Pfeiffer, D.; Gleich, B.; Achterhold, K.; Schmid, O.; Pfeiffer, F.: Dynamic <italic>In Vivo</italic> Chest X-ray Dark-Field Imaging in Mice. IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging 38 (2), 2019, 649-656 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )

2018

  • Birnbacher, Lorenz; Maurer, Stefanie; Scheidt, Katharina; Herzen, Julia; Pfeiffer, Franz; Fromme, Tobias: Electron Density of Adipose Tissues Determined by Phase-Contrast Computed Tomography Provides a Measure for Mitochondrial Density and Fat Content. Frontiers in Physiology 9, 2018 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Birnbacher, Lorenz; Viermetz, Manuel; Noichl, Wolfgang; Allner, Sebastian; Fehringer, Andreas; Marschner, Mathias; von Teuffenbach, Maximilian; Willner, Marian; Achterhold, Klaus; Noël, Peter B.; Koehler, Thomas; Herzen, Julia; Pfeiffer, Franz: Tilted grating phase-contrast computed tomography using statistical iterative reconstruction. Scientific Reports 8 (1), 2018 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Braig, Eva-Maria; Birnbacher, Lorenz; Schaff, Florian; Gromann, Lukas; Fingerle, Alexander; Herzen, Julia; Rummeny, Ernst; Noël, Peter; Pfeiffer, Franz; Muenzel, Daniela: Simultaneous wood and metal particle detection on dark-field radiography. European Radiology Experimental 2 (1), 2018 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Braig, Eva; Böhm, Jessica; Dierolf, Martin; Jud, Christoph; Günther, Benedikt; Mechlem, Korbinian; Allner, Sebastian; Sellerer, Thorsten; Achterhold, Klaus; Gleich, Bernhard; Noël, Peter; Pfeiffer, Daniela; Rummeny, Ernst; Herzen, Julia; Pfeiffer, Franz: Direct quantitative material decomposition employing grating-based X-ray phase-contrast CT. Scientific Reports 8 (1), 2018 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • De Marco, Fabio; Marschner, Mathias; Birnbacher, Lorenz; Noël, Peter; Herzen, Julia; Pfeiffer, Franz: Analysis and correction of bias induced by phase stepping jitter in grating-based X-ray phase-contrast imaging. Optics Express 26 (10), 2018, 12707 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Eggl, Elena; Grandl, Susanne; Sztrόkay-Gaul, Anikό; Dierolf, Martin; Jud, Christoph; Heck, Lisa; Burger, Karin; Günther, Benedikt; Achterhold, Klaus; Mayr, Doris; Wilkens, Jan J.; Auweter, Sigrid D.; Gleich, Bernhard; Hellerhoff, Karin; Reiser, Maximilian F.; Pfeiffer, Franz; Herzen, Julia: Dose-compatible grating-based phase-contrast mammography on mastectomy specimens using a compact synchrotron source. Scientific Reports 8 (1), 2018 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Gradl, Regine; Dierolf, Martin; Günther, Benedikt; Hehn, Lorenz; Möller, Winfried; Kutschke, David; Yang, Lin; Donnelley, Martin; Murrie, Rhiannon; Erl, Alexander; Stoeger, Tobias; Gleich, Bernhard; Achterhold, Klaus; Schmid, Otmar; Pfeiffer, Franz; Morgan, Kaye Susannah: In vivo Dynamic Phase-Contrast X-ray Imaging using a Compact Light Source. Scientific Reports 8 (1), 2018 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Hehn, Lorenz; Gradl, Regine; Voss, Andrej; Günther, Benedikt; Dierolf, Martin; Jud, Christoph; Willer, Konstantin; Allner, Sebastian; Hammel, Jörg U.; Hessler, Roland; Morgan, Kaye S.; Herzen, Julia; Hemmert, Werner; Pfeiffer, Franz: Propagation-based phase-contrast tomography of a guinea pig inner ear with cochlear implant using a model-based iterative reconstruction algorithm. Biomedical Optics Express 9 (11), 2018, 5330 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Hehn, Lorenz; Morgan, Kaye; Bidola, Pidassa; Noichl, Wolfgang; Gradl, Regine; Dierolf, Martin; Noël, Peter B.; Pfeiffer, Franz: Nonlinear statistical iterative reconstruction for propagation-based phase-contrast tomography. APL Bioengineering 2 (1), 2018, 016105 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Hellbach, Katharina; Baehr, Andrea; De Marco, Fabio; Willer, Konstantin; Gromann, Lukas B.; Herzen, Julia; Dmochewitz, Michaela; Auweter, Sigrid; Fingerle, Alexander A.; Noël, Peter B.; Rummeny, Ernst J.; Yaroshenko, Andre; Maack, Hanns-Ingo; Pralow, Thomas; van der Heijden, Hendrik; Wieberneit, Nataly; Proksa, Roland; Koehler, Thomas; Rindt, Karsten; Schroeter, Tobias J.; Mohr, Juergen; Bamberg, Fabian; Ertl-Wagner, Birgit; Pfeiffer, Franz; Reiser, Maximilian F.: Depiction of pneumothoraces in a large animal model using x-ray dark-field radiography. Scientific Reports 8 (1), 2018 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Töpperwien, Mareike; Gradl, Regine; Keppeler, Daniel; Vassholz, Malte; Meyer, Alexander; Hessler, Roland; Achterhold, Klaus; Gleich, Bernhard; Dierolf, Martin; Pfeiffer, Franz; Moser, Tobias; Salditt, Tim: Propagation-based phase-contrast x-ray tomography of cochlea using a compact synchrotron source. Scientific Reports 8 (1), 2018 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Viermetz, Manuel; Birnbacher, Lorenz; Willner, Marian; Achterhold, Klaus; Pfeiffer, Franz; Herzen, Julia: High resolution laboratory grating-based X-ray phase-contrast CT. Scientific Reports 8 (1), 2018 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )

2017

  • F. Pfeiffer et al.: Pre-clinical dark-field CT imaging of small-animal lung disease models. Proceedings of the 4th Internatonal Meeting on image formation in X-ray CT, 2017 mehr… BibTeX
  • Gromann, Lukas B.; De Marco, Fabio; Willer, Konstantin; Noël, Peter B.; Scherer, Kai; Renger, Bernhard; Gleich, Bernhard; Achterhold, Klaus; Fingerle, Alexander A.; Muenzel, Daniela; Auweter, Sigrid; Hellbach, Katharina; Reiser, Maximilian; Baehr, Andrea; Dmochewitz, Michaela; Schroeter, Tobias J.; Koch, Frieder J.; Meyer, Pascal; Kunka, Danays; Mohr, Juergen; Yaroshenko, Andre; Maack, Hanns-Ingo; Pralow, Thomas; van der Heijden, Hendrik; Proksa, Roland; Koehler, Thomas; Wieberneit, Nataly; Rindt, Karsten; Rummeny, Ernst J.; Pfeiffer, Franz; Herzen, Julia: In-vivo X-ray Dark-Field Chest Radiography of a Pig. Scientific Reports 7 (1), 2017 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Teuffenbach, Maximilian von; Koehler, Thomas; Fehringer, Andreas; Viermetz, Manuel; Brendel, Bernhard; Herzen, Julia; Proksa, Roland; Rummeny, Ernst J.; Pfeiffer, Franz; Noël, Peter B.: Grating-based phase-contrast and dark-field computed tomography: a single-shot method. Scientific Reports 7 (1), 2017 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Teuffenbach, Maximilian von; Koehler, Thomas; Fehringer, Andreas; Viermetz, Manuel; Brendel, Bernhard; Herzen, Julia; Proksa, Roland; Rummeny, Ernst J.; Pfeiffer, Franz; Noël, Peter B.: Grating-based phase-contrast and dark-field computed tomography: a single-shot method. Scientific Reports 7 (1), 2017 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )

2016

  • Allner, S; Koehler, T; Fehringer, A; Birnbacher, L; Willner, M; Pfeiffer, F; Noël, P B: Bilateral filtering using the full noise covariance matrix applied to x-ray phase-contrast computed tomography. Physics in Medicine and Biology 61 (10), 2016, 3867-3856 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Birnbacher, Lorenz; Willner, Marian; Velroyen, Astrid; Marschner, Mathias; Hipp, Alexander; Meiser, Jan; Koch, Frieder; Schröter, Tobias; Kunka, Danays; Mohr, Jürgen; Pfeiffer, Franz; Herzen, Julia: Experimental Realisation of High-sensitivity Laboratory X-ray Grating-based Phase-contrast Computed Tomography. Scientific Reports 6 (1), 2016 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Marschner, M.; Willner, M.; Potdevin, G.; Fehringer, A.; Noël, P. B.; Pfeiffer, F.; Herzen, J.: Helical X-ray phase-contrast computed tomography without phase stepping. Scientific Reports 6 (1), 2016 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Yaroshenko, Andre; Pritzke, Tina; Koschlig, Markus; Kamgari, Nona; Willer, Konstantin; Gromann, Lukas; Auweter, Sigrid; Hellbach, Katharina; Reiser, Maximilian; Eickelberg, Oliver; Pfeiffer, Franz; Hilgendorff, Anne: Visualization of neonatal lung injury associated with mechanical ventilation using x-ray dark-field radiography. Scientific Reports 6 (1), 2016 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )

2015

  • B. Brendel, M. von Teuffenbach, P. B. Noël, F. Pfeiffer, and Th. Koehler: Intensity based iterative reconstruction for differential phase contrast imaging with reconstruction parameter estimation. International Meeting on Fully Three-Dimensional Image Reconstruction in Radiology and Nuclear Medicine (Fully3D, 2015 mehr… BibTeX
  • Bidola, Pidassa M.; Zanette, Irene; Achterhold, Klaus; Holzner, Christian; Pfeiffer, Franz: Optimization of propagation-based phase-contrast imaging at a laboratory setup. Optics Express 23 (23), 2015, 30000 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Bidola, Pidassa; Stockmar, Marco; Achterhold, Klaus; Pfeiffer, Franz; Pacheco, Mírian L.A.F.; Soriano, Carmen; Beckmann, Felix; Herzen, Julia: Absorption and Phase Contrast X-Ray Imaging in Paleontology Using Laboratory and Synchrotron Sources. Microscopy and Microanalysis 21 (5), 2015, 1288-1295 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Brendel, Bernhard; von Teuffenbach, Maximilian; Noël, Peter B.; Pfeiffer, Franz; Koehler, Thomas: Penalized maximum likelihood reconstruction for x-ray differential phase-contrast tomography. Medical Physics 43 (1), 2015, 188-194 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Brendel, Bernhard; von Teuffenbach, Maximilian; Noël, Peter B.; Pfeiffer, Franz; Koehler, Thomas: Penalized maximum likelihood reconstruction for x-ray differential phase-contrast tomography. Medical Physics 43 (1), 2015, 188-194 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Eggl, Elena; Schleede, Simone; Bech, Martin; Achterhold, Klaus; Loewen, Roderick; Ruth, Ronald D.; Pfeiffer, Franz: X-ray phase-contrast tomography with a compact laser-driven synchrotron source. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112 (18), 2015, 5567-5572 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Epple, Franz M.; Ehn, Sebastian; Thibault, Pierre; Koehler, Thomas; Potdevin, Guillaume; Herzen, Julia; Pennicard, David; Graafsma, Heinz; Noel, Peter B.; Pfeiffer, Franz: Phase Unwrapping in Spectral X-Ray Differential Phase-Contrast Imaging With an Energy-Resolving Photon-Counting Pixel Detector. IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging 34 (3), 2015, 816-823 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • F. Pfeiffer: Principles of X-ray Phase- and Darkfield Imaging. nternational Symposium on Biomedical Applications of X-ray Phase Contrast Imaging, 2015 mehr… BibTeX
  • F. Pfeiffer: Wave-optical X-ray Imaging Phase- and Dark-Field Contrast. International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention, 2015 mehr… BibTeX
  • Hahn, Dieter; Thibault, Pierre; Fehringer, Andreas; Bech, Martin; Koehler, Thomas; Pfeiffer, Franz; Noël, Peter B.: Statistical iterative reconstruction algorithm for X-ray phase-contrast CT. Scientific Reports 5 (1), 2015 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • M. von Teuffenbach, B. Brendel, Th. Koehler, P. B. Noël, and F. Pfeiffer: Iterative Reconstruction of Sliding Window PCCT. International Conference on X-ray and Neutron Phase Imaging with Gratings (XNPIG), 2015 mehr… BibTeX
  • Prade, F.; Chabior, M.; Malm, F.; Grosse, C.U.; Pfeiffer, F.: Observing the setting and hardening of cementitious materials by X-ray dark-field radiography. Cement and Concrete Research 74, 2015, 19-25 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Ruiz-Yaniz, M.; Koch, F.; Zanette, I.; Rack, A.; Meyer, P.; Kunka, D.; Hipp, A.; Mohr, J.; Pfeiffer, F.: X-ray grating interferometry at photon energies over 180 keV. Applied Physics Letters 106 (15), 2015, 151105 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Ruiz-Yaniz, M.; Zanette, I.; Rack, A.; Weitkamp, T.; Meyer, P.; Mohr, J.; Pfeiffer, F.: X-ray-refractive-index measurements at photon energies above 100 keV with a grating interferometer. Physical Review A 91 (3), 2015 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Sarapata, Adrian; Ruiz-Yaniz, Maite; Zanette, Irene; Rack, Alexander; Pfeiffer, Franz; Herzen, Julia: Multi-contrast 3D X-ray imaging of porous and composite materials. Applied Physics Letters 106 (15), 2015, 154102 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Schaff, Florian; Bech, Martin; Zaslansky, Paul; Jud, Christoph; Liebi, Marianne; Guizar-Sicairos, Manuel; Pfeiffer, Franz: Six-dimensional real and reciprocal space small-angle X-ray scattering tomography. Nature 527 (7578), 2015, 353-356 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Stockmar, Marco; Zanette, Irene; Dierolf, Martin; Enders, Bjoern; Clare, Richard; Pfeiffer, Franz; Cloetens, Peter; Bonnin, Anne; Thibault, Pierre: X-Ray Near-Field Ptychography for Optically Thick Specimens. Physical Review Applied 3 (1), 2015 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Thomsen, M.; Knudsen, E.B.; Willendrup, P.K.; Bech, M.; Willner, M.; Pfeiffer, F.; Poulsen, M.; Lefmann, K.; Feidenhans’l, R.: Prediction of beam hardening artefacts in computed tomography using Monte Carlo simulations. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 342, 2015, 314-320 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Vogel, Jakob; Schaff, Florian; Fehringer, Andreas; Jud, Christoph; Wieczorek, Matthias; Pfeiffer, Franz; Lasser, Tobias: Constrained X-ray tensor tomography reconstruction. Optics Express 23 (12), 2015, 15134 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Wenz, J.; Schleede, S.; Khrennikov, K.; Bech, M.; Thibault, P.; Heigoldt, M.; Pfeiffer, F.; Karsch, S.: Quantitative X-ray phase-contrast microtomography from a compact laser-driven betatron source. Nature Communications 6 (1), 2015 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Wolf, Johannes; Sperl, Jonathan I.; Schaff, Florian; Schüttler, Markus; Yaroshenko, Andre; Zanette, Irene; Herzen, Julia; Pfeiffer, Franz: Lens-term- and edge-effect in X-ray grating interferometry. Biomedical Optics Express 6 (12), 2015, 4812 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Zanette, I.; Enders, B.; Dierolf, M.; Thibault, P.; Gradl, R.; Diaz, A.; Guizar-Sicairos, M.; Menzel, A.; Pfeiffer, F.; Zaslansky, P.: Ptychographic X-ray nanotomography quantifies mineral distributions in human dentine. Scientific Reports 5 (1), 2015 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )

2014

  • Burger, Karin; Koehler, Thomas; Chabior, Michael; Allner, Sebastian; Marschner, Mathias; Fehringer, Andreas; Willner, Marian; Pfeiffer, Franz; Noël, Peter: Regularized iterative integration combined with non-linear diffusion filtering for phase-contrast x-ray computed tomography. Optics Express 22 (26), 2014, 32107 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )
  • Herzen, Julia; Willner, Marian S.; Fingerle, Alexander A.; Noël, Peter B.; Köhler, Thomas; Drecoll, Enken; Rummeny, Ernst J.; Pfeiffer, Franz: Imaging Liver Lesions Using Grating-Based Phase-Contrast Computed Tomography with Bi-Lateral Filter Post-Processing. PLoS ONE 9 (1), 2014, e83369 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )

2012

  • Raupach, Rainer; Flohr, Thomas: Performance evaluation of x-ray differential phase contrast computed tomography (PCT) with respect to medical imaging. Medical Physics 39 (8), 2012, 4761-4774 mehr… BibTeX Volltext ( DOI )