Menu

Latest news & events

Catheter treatment is not only effective, but also cost-effective for ischemic stroke

Catheter treatment is not only effective, but also cost-effective for ischemic stroke

29 September 2026

With ischemic stroke, every minute counts. However, many patients do not seek hospital care until it is too late, for example, because symptoms are not immediately recognized or because people wake up with signs of neurological deficits. As a result, a group of patients is no longer eligible for catheter treatment. 

Read more
Platelets: more than a band-aid

Platelets: more than a band-aid

23 September 2026

Some processes in our body might seem obvious to us. If you cut your finger, the bleeding will stop shortly and form a scab. Behind that seemingly simple process hides a sophisticated system of platelets and clotting factors. By now, we know that platelets do much more than halt bleeding: they function as information carriers and regulators of disease processes. 

Read more
More newsMore events
Carim Maastricht
Carim Maastricht

Rob Holtackers

Assistant Professor

Rob Holtackers has worked in cardiovascular MRI since 2014. He earned his MSc in Medical Engineering (cum laude) from Eindhoven University of Technology in 2015, following a 4-month research internship at King's College London. That same year he began his PhD at Maastricht University Medical Center+ (Maastricht UMC+), developing cardiovascular MRI techniques to improve detection and visualisation of subendocardial myocardial fibrosis. He joined the Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at Maastricht UMC+ as a permanent staff member in 2017. In 2022, he defended his dissertation, “Visualising the invisible: dark-blood late gadolinium enhancement MRI for improved detection of subendocardial scar,” with cum laude distinction.

Rob is currently MRI Physicist at Maastricht UMC+, and Assistant Professor at Maastricht University, leading the development, validation, and clinical translation of advanced cardiac MRI techniques. His research focuses on CMR methodology, myocardial tissue characterisation, interventional CMR, and free-running motion-resolved imaging, bridging technological innovation and clinical implementation to improve cardiovascular diagnosis and patient care.

Rob also holds international appointments as Visiting Senior Lecturer at King's College London (UK) and Visiting Assistant Professor at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV, Switzerland), and is a member of EACVI, SCMR, ESCR, ECR and ISMRM. Within EACVI, he serves on the CMR Examination and Certification Committee, and acts as section editor for Topics in Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine. 

In 2026, Rob obtained a Master's degree in Dutch Law, specialising in Commercial and Company Law, further broadening his academic and professional expertise beyond the field of (bio)medical imaging.

Robdscf2720

Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine
Prof. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht
Building UNS 60, room M1.05
T: +31 43 387 2478

  • 2026
    • Kubler, J., Ledesma, A. J., Holtackers, R. J., Greulich, S., Kustner, T., Lingg, A., Hagen, F., Nikolaou, K., Krumm, P., & Brendel, J. M. (2026). Single-shot blood-nulled PSIR LGE with fixed inversion time for rapid and reliable scar detection in cardiac MRI. European Journal of Radiology, 204, Article 113098. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrad.2026.113098
    • Coveliers, J., Meani, P., Huizinga, E., Gutta, K., Piccirillo, G., Gasparotti, E., Vignali, E., Mazzoli, M., Kowalewski, M., Huberts, W., Moradi, H., Di Mauro, M., Holtackers, R. J., de Jong, M., Gelsomino, S., Paparella, D., Celi, S., Haxhiademi, D., Körver, E., ... Lorusso, R. (2026). Large-scale computed tomography study of aortic arch and supra-aortic artery morphology: Variations and potential implications for arterial extracorporeal life support access. Perfusion, 41(6), 1055-1064. https://doi.org/10.1177/02676591251370074
    • Scannell, C. M., & Holtackers, R. J. (2026). Editorial for "Detection of Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction in Diabetic Mice Using Arterial Spin Labeling Cardiac MRI: A Multimodality Imaging Comparison". Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 64(1), 151-152. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmri.70309
    • Ogier, A. C., Baup, S., Ilanjian, G., Touray, A., Rocca, A., Banús, J., Quesada, I. M., Nicoletti, M., Ledoux, J.-B., Richiardi, J., Holtackers, R. J., Yerly, J., Stuber, M., Hullin, R., Rotzinger, D., & van Heeswijk, R. B. (2026). Cardiac function assessment with deep-learning-based automatic segmentation of free-running four-dimensional whole-heart cardiovascular magnetic resonance. Journal of cardiovascular magnetic resonance : official journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, 28(1), 1-13. Article 102677. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocmr.2025.102677
    • Coveliers, J., Gasparotti, E., Vignali, E., Meani, P., Mazzoli, M., Kowalewski, M., Huizinga, E., Gutta, K., Piccirillo, G., Huberts, W., Moradi, H., Di Mauro, M., Holtackers, R. J., de Jong, M., Gelsomino, S., Paparella, D., Körver, E., Doddema, A., Kawczinski, M., ... Lorusso, R. (2026). Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Related Axillary Artery Cannulation and Aortic Hemodynamics: Insights From Computational Fluid Dynamics. ASAIO journal (American Society for Artificial Internal Organs : 1992). Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1097/MAT.0000000000002617
    • Hermans, B. J., Farnir, F. I., Bijvoet, G. P., Larsen, B. S., Jespersen, T., Jerltorp, K., Holtackers, R. J., Mihl, C., Schotten, U., Vernooy, K., Luermans, J. G., Chaldoupi, S.-M., & Linz, D. (2026). Visualization of monopolar biphasic focal pulsed field ablation lesions 3 months after pulmonary vein isolation on high-resolution 3-dimensional dark-blood late gadolinium enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance images. Heart Rhythm, 23(2), 243-248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2025.07.047
    • Coveliers, J., Meani, P., Kowalewski, M., Huizinga, E., Gutta, K., Piccirillo, G., Gasparotti, E., Vignali, E., Mazzoli, M., Huberts, W., Moradi, H., Di Mauro, M., Holtackers, R. J., de Jong, M., Gelsomino, S., Paparella, D., Celi, S., Haxhiademi, D., Körver, E., ... Lorusso, R. (2026). Subclavian or axillary artery cannulation for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: A systematic review. JTCVS open, 29, Article 101562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjon.2025.101562
  • 2025
    • van der Pol, J. A. J., Rahel, B., van Cauteren, Y. J. M., Moonen, R. P. M., Meeder, J. G., Gerretsen, S. C., Aizaz, M., Prieto, C., Botnar, R. M., Bucerius, J., van Langen, H., Wildberger, J. E., Holtackers, R. J., & Kooi, M. E. (2025). Molecular Imaging of Coronary Plaque Vulnerability Using 18F-Fluorocholine PET-MRI in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: Validation with Optical Coherence Tomography. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(24), Article 8708. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14248708
    • Gnasso, C., Vecsey-Nagy, M., Hagar, M. T., Joseph Schoepf, U., Sanchez, D. A. P., Zsarnóczay, E., Kravchenko, D., Tremamunno, G., Holtackers, R. J., Halfmann, M. C., Emrich, T., & Varga-Szemes, A. (2025). Impact of Photon-counting CT–based Virtual Monoenergetic Imaging on Detecting Myocardial Late Iodine Enhancement Compared to Cardiac MRI. Radiology. Cardiothoracic imaging, 7(6), Article e250072. https://doi.org/10.1148/ryct.250072
    • van der Meulen, L. R., van Dinther, M., Chiribiri, A., Smink, J., Backes, W. H., Bennett, J., Wildberger, J. E., Scannell, C. M., Holtackers, R. J., & Crucial Investigators (2025). Artificial Intelligence-Based Arterial Input Function for the Quantitative Assessment of Myocardial Blood Flow and Perfusion Reserve in Cardiac Magnetic Resonance: A Validation Study. Diagnostics, 15(18), Article 2341. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15182341
Overview