Chief Clinical MR Physicist
Massachusetts General Hospital(MGH)

Boston, Massachusetts

Posted in Health and Safety


This job has expired.

Job Info


The Chief Clinical MR Physicist will have the opportunity to run theclinical MR physicist division and to mentor junior physicists and will beprovided the resources necessary to be successful. The Chief and juniorphysicists will be responsible for assuring that all MGH affiliated scannersare operating effectively and within compliance and regulatory standards. TheChief and his/her team will work closely with the MR operations team,Divisional MR radiologists, manufacturer physicists and service engineers, and manufacturerapplication specialists to optimize patient care. This will be achieved byaddressing all scanner hardware and software malfunctions on a timely basis,continually improving protocols and standardizing them across scanners,assuring MR safety, supervising the installation of new MR scanners,orchestrating the ACR accreditation process and developing and maintainingtechnical support for radiologists and technologists. The Chief Clinical MRphysicist will assure compliance with all regulatory and certifyingagency requirements (eg. Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the MA Determinationof Need office, The Joint Commission and the American College of Radiology). The Chief Clinical MR Physicist and his/her team willbe responsible for teaching MR Physics to Radiology residents, fellows andattendings and MR technologists and for coordinating clinical MR researchactivities. The Chief will have the opportunity to collaborate on researchprojects with various departments and faculty members at MGH, as well as withthe Martinos center physicists which will be crucial for translating keysequences and applications to the clinical MR scanners. The Chief Clinical MRPhysicist will report directly to the Clinical Director of MRI and will beexpected to attend MR physics, operations, protocol and safety meetings on a routinebasis.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• TheChief Clinical MR Physicist will have the opportunity to run the clinical MR physics division including the mentoringof junior physicists The Chief and members of the team will assumeresponsibility for all items listed below. The Department of Radiology will providethe resources necessary to achieve these goals.

• Assure that all MGH affiliated scanners areoperating effectively and safely at all times and assume responsibility foroptimizing image quality on all MGH affiliated scanners. To achieve this, the Chiefphysicist and his/her team will:

A. Oversee all policies and procedures with regard to thesafe and productive operation of MR systems.

B. Work closely with GE andSiemens service engineers to address all scanner hardware, coil and softwaremalfunctions.

C. Work with Siemens and GEapplications specialists to understand and effectively implement all newsoftware as it becomes commercially available in order to maximize imagequality. This will include working closely with Divisional MR and otherradiologists who will carefully evaluate image quality and clinical utility.

D. Work with Divisional MRRadiologists, other radiologists and the MR QA manager to continually improve andshorten MR protocols and standardize them between scanners.

E. Work with GE and Siemensphysicists and research teams to evaluate works in progress (WIPs). This willinclude understanding and testing WIPS, presenting them to the radiologists toevaluate and implementing those that are deemed clinically useful.

F. Work with physicists at the Martinos Center todetermine which sequences developed by them are ready to be evaluated on theMGH clinical scanners. Work with radiologists and the MR QA manager to assessthese sequences and implement those that are clinically useful.

G. Modifypulse sequences as needed based on radiologists' specific requirements outsideof standard product protocols (for example ASL, Perfusion, etc).

H. Collect and analyzestatistical data from QatchAll and other sources to identify sequences thatproduce poor image quality and systematically revise the sequences or replacethem in order to improve image quality.

I. Resolveall technical MR issues that go beyond routine conventional scanner servicequestions.

J. Attend manufacture/softwarespecific MR physics training as defined by the needs of the MR department.

K. An MR physicist will be available by cell phone everyday so that: (1) he/she can help solve particular complex problems with imagequality; (2) he/she can help determine whethercertain implanted devices are safe in an MR scanner.

• Assurethat the physics team is integrally involved in the purchase and installationof new scanners. Responsibilities include:

A. Review allquotes to assure that all desired software and hardware specifications areincluded.

B. Manageall physics aspects related to scanner installation including assuringappropriate shielding, accurate gauss line determinations, strict adherence toall MR safety guidelines, interfacing with MGH Biomedical Engineering, attendingconstruction renovation meetings, etc.

C. Work with manufacturer applications specialists,Divisional MR radiologists and the MR QA manager to develop and implement allprotocols.

D. Support the installation ofancillary equipment within the MR scan room.

E. Be available as needed to performsignal to noise testing and artifact evaluation.

F. Assist the MR leadership team inthe evaluation of conditional-implants as they relate to scannerspecifications.

• Superviseand strictly adhere to all ACR requirements for accreditation

A. ACR requires weekly checking of Q/A measurements. The MR physicists will maintain and furtherdevelop an automated program which provides a daily QA report for each scanner,tracking: Center Frequency, TXgain/reference, image uniformity, slice accuracy, geometric accuracy, ghosting,RF stability, SNR and helium levels as processed from Q/A data collected andentered into the MR physics website.

B. Triggerplots for each scanner needing service will be automatically flagged and sentdaily to the operations and technical managers for all sites.

C. Annual ACR phantom tests will be performed andthere will be a biannual ACR report for each scanner for license renewal.

D. Work with the MR QAmanager and Divisional MR radiologists to evaluate all images submitted to theACR.

• Develop and maintain technical support for radiologists andtechnologists

A. Thewebsite, (http://larmour.mgh.harvard.edu/), will serve as a crucial resource fortechnologists and radiologists. It will contain all acquired daily QA reports,ACR reports, MR policies, MR safety information, MR protocols, MR physicslectures, eGFR forms, Gadolinium dose calculators, etc.

B. MRphysicist will also maintain and further develop an MR protocol remotemanagement and control web server. This will allow propagation of each newprotocol, as it is developed, from a single web based interface anywhere to all scanners.

C. The Chief Physicist will reviewand address as needed image quality concerns, questions, and issues as formallylogged in the MGH Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Reporting Tool.

• Assume responsibility for teaching the following groups

A. MGHRadiology residents - Basic MR physics

B. MGHFellows and Attending Radiologists - Advanced MR imaging techniques

C. MGHtechnologists - Basic MR physics

D. All ofthe lectures will be maintained as PDF files on the physics web site and areaccessible on the partners network.

• Responsible for the following clinical research activities

A. Collaborate with Martinoscenter faculty and clinical faculty to create new cutting edge clinical MRapplications in keeping with the specific needs and mandates of the MR Divisionand Radiology Department including the development of ultrafast MR sequences.

B. Provide support to clinicalfaculty for clinical research projects involving MR imaging. Those include MRphysics expertise on grant and manuscript preparations.

C. Implement and maintainprotocols associated with funded clinical research projects on all MGH MRscanners.

D. Supervise the transition ofinnovative new imaging techniques, protocols and coil design from research/developmentto clinical use

• Reporting

A. Attend biweekly MR physics meetings chaired by the ClinicalDirector of MRI to review in detail physics activities and challenges over thepreceding two weeks as well as progress on ongoing initiatives.

B. Attendbiweekly staff meetings with MR management in order to apprise the MRmanagement team of key physics activities during the preceding two weeks andongoing initiatives.

C. Attendmonthly Martinos center meetings chaired by the Clinical Director of MR inorder to develop and review all initiatives pertaining to translation of innovative new imagingtechniques, protocols and coil design from research/development to clinicaluse.

D. Attend Divisional MRprotocol meetings

E. Attend MR safety meetings

F. Attend other departmentaland divisional meetings on an ad hoc basis and participate in otherdepartmental and hospital committees asrequired by MR management.

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES REQUIRED:

  • At least five years of experience in MR imaging in a hospital setting.
  • Has demonstrated ability to assess clinical performance of MR systems.
  • Has demonstrated significant expertise of the principles of MR physics.
  • Has excellent computer programming skills
  • Must have leadership skills to manage a clinical MR physics division and mentor junior physicists.
  • Must have excellent communication skills and be able to interact with a broad range of staff within the clinical MR environment and participate with members of a multidisciplinary team.
  • Must be able to provide effective education and training to staff at all levels.
  • Must be able to provide own transportation to travel between MGH and off campus imaging sites (Waltham, Chelsea, Danvers).


Qualifications
Education & Experience
  • Must have a Ph.D. in medical physics, physics, or engineering or an area of science relevant to MR physics.
  • At least 5 years of experience as a Clinical MRphysicist

Certifications:

Required:
  • American Board of Medical Physics (ABMP) certification in MR Imaging Physics and/or American Board of Radiology (ABR) certification in Radiologic Physics
Preferred:
  • American Board of Radiology (ABR) certification in Radiologic Physics
  • Magnetic Resonance Safety Expert (MRSE)


EEO Statement
MassachusettsGeneral Hospital is an Equal Opportunity Employer. By embracing diverseskills, perspectives and ideas, we choose to lead. Applicationsfrom protected veterans and individuals with disabilities are stronglyencouraged.


This job has expired.

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