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Wing-Chi Edmund Kwok, Ph.D.

Contact Information

Faculty Appointments

Biography

Professional Background

Professor Kwok joined the University of Rochester in 1990 after receiving his Ph.D. in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and is currently an associate Professor of Imaging Sciences. His research interests in MRI include MR safety, high resolution imaging, RF coil development, water/fat imaging, dynamic contrast enhanced MRI, brain functional MRI and diffusion-weighted MRI. He has been developing RF coils and pulse sequences for research and clinical applications since 1990, and is in charge of RF coils at both Strong Memorial Hospital and UR Center for Advanced Brain Imaging & Neurophysiology. He is a recipient of six U.S. patents related to new pulse sequence and RF coil technologies.

Professor Kwok is board certified in Diagnostic Radiological Physics by the American Board of Radiology (since 1998) and certified as Medical Physicist - Diagnostic Radiological by New York State (since 2004). He supervises MRI quality assurance and ACR MRI accreditation at Strong Memorial Hospital, Golisano Children’s Hospital, East River Road, University Medical Imaging, Highland Hospital, Strong West, Penfield Crossings, Thompson Hospital and Noyes Memorial Hospital. He participates in the purchase and site planning, and conducts acceptance testing of new MRI systems. He also works with clinicians to optimize MRI protocols, provides consultation support to clinical scanning, and educates physicians and technologists on MRI technology.

Professor Kwok is also certified as an MR Safety Expert by the American Board of Magnetic Resonance Safety (since 2016). He is a member of the MRI Safety Committee at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He participates in the development of UR MRI safety policies and educational programs, and advises on the safety in scanning patients with implants or foreign objects.

Credentials

Education

1984
BS | Hong Kong - Non-Medical School
Physics

1988
MS | Rensselaer Polytech Inst
Physics

1990
PhD | Rensselaer Polytech Inst
Physics

Awards

2020
Cum Laude Award for an Educational Exhibit at the Annual Meeting
Sponsor: Radiological Society of North America

2019
Roadie Award (for being the most viewed presentation in the RSNA MRI Preview)
Sponsor: AuntMinnie.com

2012
Magna Cum Laude Merit Award for an Electronic Poster Presentation in the Annual Meeting
Sponsor: International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine

1999
Certificate of Merit Citation for a Scientific Exhibit in the Annual Meeting
Sponsor: Radiological Society of North America

1985 - 1989
Student Fellowship
Sponsor: Intermagnetics General Cooperation

1982 - 1983
Full Tuition Scholarship
Sponsor: Hong Kong Baptist University

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Patents

Patent Title: System and Method for Three-Dimensional Interleaved Water and Fat Image Acquisition with Chemical-Shift Correction
Patent #: 6,373,249
Issue Date: Apr 16, 2002
Country: United States
Invented By: Wingchi E Kwok, Saara Totterman, Jianhui Zhong

Patent Title: Optimized Orthogonal Gradient Technique for Fast Quantitative Diffusion MRI on a Clinical Scanner
Patent #: 6,288,540
Issue Date: Sep 11, 2001
Country: United States
Invented By: Zhong Chen, Wingchi E Kwok, Jianhui Zhong

Patent Title: Intermolecular Multiple-Quantum MR Imaging in Humans
Patent #: 6,528,997
Issue Date: Mar 04, 2003
Country: United States
Invented By: Zhong Chen, Wingchi E Kwok, Jianhui Zhong

Patent Title: Interleaved Water and Fat Dual-Echo Spin Echo Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Intrinsic Chemical Shift Elimination
Patent #: 6,583,623
Issue Date: Jun 24, 2003
Country: United States
Invented By: Wingchi E Kwok, Saara Totterman, Jianhui Zhong

Patent Title: Cryogenically Cooled Phased Array RF Receiver Coil for Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Patent #: 7,002,348
Issue Date: Feb 21, 2006
Country: United States
Invented By: Wingchi E Kwok, Zhigang You, Jianhui Zhong

Patent Title: Cryogenically Cooled Phased Array RF Receiver Coil for Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Patent #: 6,825,664
Issue Date: Nov 30, 2004
Country: United States
Invented By: Wingchi E Kwok, Zhigang You, Jianhui Zhong

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Publications

Journal Articles

4/8/2022
Kwok WE. "Basic Principles of and Practical Guide to Clinical MRI Radiofrequency Coils." Radiographics : a review publication of the Radiological Society of North America, Inc.. 2022 Apr 8; :210110. Epub 2022 Apr 08.

11/22/2021
Brady M, McQuaid C, Solorzano A, Johnson A, Combs A, Venkatraman C, Rahman A, Leyva H, Kwok WE, Wood RW, Deane R. "Spike protein multiorgan tropism suppressed by antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2." Communications biology.. 2021 Nov 22; 4(1):1318. Epub 2021 Nov 22.

11/30/2020
Brady M, Rahman A, Combs A, Venkatraman C, Kasper RT, McQuaid C, Kwok WE, Wood RW, Deane R. "Cerebrospinal fluid drainage kinetics across the cribriform plate are reduced with aging." Fluids and barriers of the CNS.. 2020 Nov 30; 17(1):71. Epub 2020 Nov 30.

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