Prof. Dr. Roland Beisteiner

Prof. Dr. Roland Beisteiner is one of the pioneers in the field of non-invasive functional brain diagnostics and therapy. He was the first to conduct functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a technique with which brain activity can be monitored in an MRI scanner, in the alpine region. His research group helped develop this method for clinical functional brain diagnostics. Today, fMRI is one of the most successful techniques in this clinical brain function diagnostics and clinical neuroscience. Since 2012, Prof. Dr. Beisteiner has been central in the development of the first clinical ultrasound-based brain therapy (non-invasive brain stimulation). After thorough conceptual work and search for an industrial partner, the realization was accomplished together with STORZ Medical AG (Switzerland). Together, a first therapeutic system for brain function specialists was developed and clinically approved. In 2017, Prof. Dr. Beisteiner coined the term Transcranial Pulse Stimulation (TPS). The first scientific publication in 2019 received much attention in the international scientific community and was featured in leading multidisciplinary journals (e.g. Journal of the American Medical Association JAMA). The technique is one of the most complex non-invasive brain therapies and requires a high degree of expertise in the area of clinical functional brain analysis (e.g. using fMRI) for a safe and effective application. The therapy is undergoing constant scientific development and has a high potential for a number of neuronal diseases that can be improved via neuroplastic reorganisation. As TPS is an add-on therapy to existing therapeutic measures, it has the potential to offer an additional therapeutic option, if administered with the necessary expertise. The development was nominated for the Austria Gala (“Austrian of the year”).

Prof. Dr. Beisteiner studied medicine and music in Ulm, Freiburg, London and Vienna. He is professor for neurology and psychiatry at the Medical University of Vienna, as well as a graduated concert cellist. He is married and has two children.