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UMC Utrecht

UMC Utrecht is a leading university medical center in the Netherlands, integrating patient care, research, and education. Located at the Utrecht Science Park and affiliated with Utrecht University, it provides highly specialized and complex care and serves as a national referral center. UMC Utrecht is internationally recognized for innovation in medical imaging and image‑guided interventions, including the MR‑Linac developed with Philips. Research focuses on areas such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, and imaging. Through multidisciplinary collaboration, advanced technologies, and strong education programs, UMC Utrecht translates scientific discoveries into improved clinical care and outcomes.

Contribution to PreciseOnco

UMC Utrecht will develop image processing technology, specifically motion correction, to realize Spectral CBCT during interventions. We will organize the VISTA study (Virtual Spectral Imaging for Superior Thermal Ablation Guidance), during which spectral imaging will be evaluated to improve liver, kidney ablation procedures and liver radioembolization. We will contribute to all other studies.

Team

Hugo de Jong

Hugo de Jong is professor of medical physics in radiology and nuclear medicine. His interests include SPECT and PET quantification, CT and x-ray imaging and interventional imaging. He has invented and developed a hybrid interventional C-arm that allows for real time nuclear imaging during oncological and cardiological interventions.

He is organizer and supervisor of a long standing resident program of medical physicists.

Maarten Smits

Maarten Smits is an interventional radiologist, associate professor, clinical scientist and program director for Interventional Radiology at UMC Utrecht. He specializes in interventional oncology and minimally invasive, image-guided treatments for cancer patients.

Both his clinical work and research focus on ablation and radioembolization. He pioneered the Hepatic Arteriography and C-arm CT Guided Ablation (HepACAGA) technique for treating liver tumors. Its success has led to global adoption in more than several centers, with ongoing studies validating its effectiveness.

Maarten serves on the editorial board of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology (CVIR) and is member of the Scientific Program Committee of the European Conference on Interventional Oncology (ECIO).