VIDEO IV RöKo 2026: Florian Gassert on dark-field radiography

Dark-field radiography can see the microstructure of the lung, something a normal x-ray completely misses. Dr. Florian Gassert, a clinician scientist in radiology at TUM University Hospital in Munich, is one of the researchers bringing this technology from the physics lab to living patients. 

PD Dr. Dr. Florian Gassert, Clinician Scientist in Radiology at TUM University Hospital in Munich, at the 107th German Radiology Congress in Leipzig.Claudia TschabuschnigThe world's first human-size dark-field scanner is installed at his institution and his team has already scanned more than 400 patients across multiple studies, evaluating the technique for COPD and emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, and inflammatory changes including COVID-19.

At RöKo 2026 in Leipzig, we spoke with him about where dark-field stands today, what needs to happen before it reaches clinical routine, and whether it could play a complementary role alongside CT in Germany's newly launched lung cancer screening program.

Our full coverage of RöKo 2026 can be found here.