Jens Frahm

Prof. Dr. Jens Frahm is a Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen, Germany, where he heads the Biomedical NMR research group. He has led this group since 1982 and completed his habilitation at the University of Göttingen in 1994.

Dr. Frahm's research focuses on the development and application of magnetic resonance imaging techniques. His work combines methodological advances with biomedical and clinical research to harness MRI's potential for characterizing living tissue. His team has pioneered real-time MRI technologies that enable visualization of dynamic physiological processes including joint movements, speech articulation, swallowing, and cardiac function without requiring breath-holds or ECG gating.

Frahm's research has dramatically transformed clinical MRI practice. His FLASH (Fast Low Angle Shot) technology, invented in 1985, reduced MRI acquisition times by a factor of 100, making modern clinical MRI feasible. In 2010, his team developed FLASH 2, enabling image acquisition in as little as 10-40 milliseconds per frame, allowing for true real-time MRI of physiological processes.

His scientific achievements have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards:

• Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2025)
• European Inventor Award (2018)
• Werner von Siemens Ring (2020)
• Gold Medal Award of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (1991)
• Induction into the German Science Hall of Fame (2016)

Frahm's FLASH technology is estimated to be used in approximately 100 million MRI examinations worldwide each year. Nearly every MRI scanner in hospitals globally utilizes his patented technology, which remains one of the Max Planck Society's most successful patents. His current research focuses on further developing real-time MRI for whole-body screening applications and monitoring minimally invasive procedures in real time.

His laboratory continues to work on mathematical methods for image reconstruction that require minimal measurements per image, enabling observation of dynamic physiological processes in living organisms. The team maintains strong collaborations with clinical partners to translate these technological advances into medical practice.