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Ralf G. Thiele, M.D.

Ralf G. Thiele, M.D.

Allergy, Immunology & Rheumatology

4.8 out of 5 stars
411 Ratings
29 Comments
UR Medicine Faculty The University of Rochester Medical Faculty Group (URMFG) consists of over 900 specialist and primary care providers spanning 19 departments. URMFG is certified by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.
Accountable Health Partner Accountable Health Partners (AHP) is a network of over 2,000 community and UR medical faculty and a dozen leading hospitals throughout the region. AHP offers a full range of care.
Accepting New Patients

Contact

Appointment (585) 486-0901

Locations

Rheumatology Clinic - Henrietta

Red Creek (Calkins Corporate Park)
400 Red Creek Drive, Suite 240
Rochester, NY 14623

(585) 486-0901 Get Directions

About Me

Dr. Thiele is currently conducting clinical research and is involved in teaching musculoskeletal ultrasound.
Dr. Thiele is currently conducting clinical research and is involved in teaching musculoskeletal ultrasound.

Faculty Appointments

Professor - Department of Medicine, Allergy/Immunology and Rheumatology (SMD)

Credentials

Residency & Fellowship

Fellowship, Rheumatology, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. 2001 - 2003

Residency, Internal Medicine, Carney Hospital. 1999 - 2001

Internship, Internal Medicine, Carney Hospital. 1998 - 1999

Internship, Internal Medicine, Buerger Hospital. 1992 - 1993

Education

MD | Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universitaet (Germany). 1991

Research

Dr. Thiele currently works as an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, in the Allergy/Immunology and Rheumatology Division.
He has trained first in abdominal and thyroid ultrasound starting in 1990 and later specialized in musculoskeletal ultrasound. He ...
Dr. Thiele currently works as an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, in the Allergy/Immunology and Rheumatology Division.
He has trained first in abdominal and thyroid ultrasound starting in 1990 and later specialized in musculoskeletal ultrasound. He was certified in musculoskeletal ultrasound in 1995 in Germany, and again in 2013 with the American College of Rheumatology.
His research interests include sonographic diagnosis and outcomes assessment of crystal arthritis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthropathy.
He has served as chair of the musculoskeletal section of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, chair of the ultrasound task force of the American College of Rheumatology and has developed and chaired educational ultrasound courses at the University of Rochester, Cooper University Hospital, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and the American College of Rheumatology.
He has developed imaging algorithms, practice guidelines and certification in musculoskeletal ultrasound with the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound, OMERACT, and the American College of Rheumatology.

Publications

Journal Articles

New Developments in Imaging in Crystalline Arthritis.

Thiele RG

Rheumatic diseases clinics of North America.. 2024 November 50 (4):683-700. Epub 09/10/2024.

North American musculoskeletal ultrasound scanning protocol of the hip, knee, ankle, and foot: update of a Delphi consensus study.

Yinh J, Torralba KD, Choi KS, Fairchild RM, Cannella A, Salto L, Kissin EY, Thiele R, Oberle EJ, Marston B, Nishio MJ,

Clinical rheumatology.. 2021 October 40 (10):4233-4242. Epub 04/05/2021.

ACR Appropriateness Criteria Chronic Knee Pain.

, Fox MG, Chang EY, Amini B, Bernard SA, Gorbachova T, Ha AS, Iyer RS, Lee KS, Metter DF, Mooar PA, Shah NA, Singer AD, Smith SE, Taljanovic MS, Thiele R, Tynus KM, Kransdorf MJ

Journal of the American College of Radiology : JACR.. 2018 November 15 (11S):S302-S312. Epub 1900 01 01.

ACR Appropriateness Criteria Shoulder Pain-Atraumatic.

, Small KM, Adler RS, Shah SH, Roberts CC, Bencardino JT, Appel M, Gyftopoulos S, Metter DF, Mintz DN, Morrison WB, Subhas N, Thiele R, Towers JD, Tynus KM, Weissman BN, Yu JS, Kransdorf MJ

Journal of the American College of Radiology : JACR.. 2018 November 15 (11S):S388-S402. Epub 1900 01 01.

Methods for high-dimensional analysis of cells dissociated from cryopreserved synovial tissue.

Donlin LT, Rao DA, Wei K, Slowikowski K, McGeachy MJ, Turner JD, Meednu N, Mizoguchi F, Gutierrez-Arcelus M, Lieb DJ, Keegan J, Muskat K, Hillman J, Rozo C, Ricker E, Eisenhaure TM, Li S, Browne EP, Chicoine A, Sutherby D, Noma A, , Nusbaum C, Kelly S, Pernis AB, Ivashkiv LB, Goodman SM, Robinson WH, Utz PJ, Lederer JA, Gravallese EM, Boyce BF, Hacohen N, Pitzalis C, Gregersen PK, Firestein GS, Raychaudhuri S, Moreland LW, Holers VM, Bykerk VP, Filer A, Boyle DL, Brenner MB, Anolik JH

Arthritis research & therapy.. 2018 July 1120 (1):139. Epub 07/11/2018.

ACR Appropriateness Criteria Chronic Ankle Pain.

, Chang EY, Tadros AS, Amini B, Bell AM, Bernard SA, Fox MG, Gorbachova T, Ha AS, Lee KS, Metter DF, Mooar PA, Shah NA, Singer AD, Smith SE, Taljanovic MS, Thiele R, Kransdorf MJ

Journal of the American College of Radiology : JACR.. 2018 May 15 (5S):S26-S38. Epub 1900 01 01.

Proceedings from The 8th Annual International Society for Musculoskeletal Imaging in Rheumatology (ISEMIR) Conference.

Troum OM, Pimienta OL, Olech E, Østergaard M, Thiele R, Seraphine JL, Bruyn GA, Peterfy C

Seminars in arthritis and rheumatism.. 2016 June 45 (6):e17-23. Epub 10/09/2015.

Toward Quantitative Assessment of Rheumatoid Arthritis Using Volumetric Ultrasound.

Cao K, Mills D, Thiele R, Patwardhan K

IEEE transactions on bio-medical engineering.. 2016 February 63 (2):449-58. Epub 08/04/2015.

Ultrasound as an Outcome Measure in Gout. A Validation Process by the OMERACT Ultrasound Working Group.

Terslev L, Gutierrez M, Schmidt WA, Keen HI, Filippucci E, Kane D, Thiele R, Kaeley G, Balint P, Mandl P, Delle Sedie A, Hammer HB, Christensen R, Möller I, Pineda C, Kissin E, Bruyn GA, Iagnocco A, Naredo E, D'Agostino MA,

The Journal of rheumatology.. 2015 November 42 (11):2177-81. Epub 09/01/2015.

Assessing Elementary Lesions in Gout by Ultrasound: Results of an OMERACT Patient-based Agreement and Reliability Exercise.

Terslev L, Gutierrez M, Christensen R, Balint PV, Bruyn GA, Delle Sedie A, Filippucci E, Garrido J, Hammer HB, Iagnocco A, Kane D, Kaeley GS, Keen H, Mandl P, Naredo E, Pineda C, Schicke B, Thiele R, D'Agostino MA, Schmidt WA,

The Journal of rheumatology.. 2015 November 42 (11):2149-54. Epub 10/15/2015.

International Consensus for ultrasound lesions in gout: results of Delphi process and web-reliability exercise.

Gutierrez M, Schmidt WA, Thiele RG, Keen HI, Kaeley GS, Naredo E, Iagnocco A, Bruyn GA, Balint PV, Filippucci E, Mandl P, Kane D, Pineda C, Delle Sedie A, Hammer HB, Christensen R, D'Agostino MA, Terslev L,

Rheumatology.. 2015 October 54 (10):1797-805. Epub 05/13/2015.

Validation of power Doppler versus contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging quantification of joint inflammation in murine inflammatory arthritis.

Bouta EM, Banik PD, Wood RW, Rahimi H, Ritchlin CT, Thiele RG, Schwarz EM

Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.. 2015 April 30 (4):690-4. Epub 1900 01 01.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis in clinical remission manifest persistent joint inflammation on histology and imaging studies.

Anandarajah A, Thiele R, Giampoli E, Monu J, Seo GS, Feng C, Ritchlin C

The Journal of rheumatology.. 2014 November 41 (11):2153-60. Epub 10/01/2014.

Ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging in the evaluation of psoriatic dactylitis: status and perspectives.

Bakewell CJ, Olivieri I, Aydin SZ, Dejaco C, Ikeda K, Gutierrez M, Terslev L, Thiele R, D'Agostino MA, Kaeley GS

The Journal of rheumatology.. 2013 December 40 (12):1951-7. Epub 11/01/2013.

Musculoskeletal ultrasound training and competency assessment program for rheumatology fellows.

Kissin EY, Niu J, Balint P, Bong D, Evangelisto A, Goyal J, Higgs J, Malone D, Nishio MJ, Pineda C, Schmidt WA, Thiele RG, Torralba KD, Kaeley GS

Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.. 2013 October 32 (10):1735-43. Epub 1900 01 01.

Imaging algorithms for evaluating suspected rotator cuff disease: Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound consensus conference statement.

Nazarian LN, Jacobson JA, Benson CB, Bancroft LW, Bedi A, McShane JM, Miller TT, Parker L, Smith J, Steinbach LS, Teefey SA, Thiele RG, Tuite MJ, Wise JN, Yamaguchi K

Radiology.. 2013 May 267 (2):589-95. Epub 02/11/2013.

AIUM practice guideline for the performance of a musculoskeletal ultrasound examination.

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Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.. 2012 September 31 (9):1473-88. Epub 1900 01 01.

Reply.

Howard RG, Pillinger MH, Gyftopoulos S, Thiele RG, Swearingen CJ, Samuels J

Arthritis care & research.. 2012 May 64 (5):795-6. Epub 1900 01 01.

Ultrasonography applications in diagnosis and management of early rheumatoid arthritis.

Thiele RG

Rheumatic diseases clinics of North America.. 2012 May 38 (2):259-75. Epub 1900 01 01.

Thermography detects subclinical inflammation in chronic tophaceous gout.

Schiavenato M, Thiele RG

The Journal of rheumatology.. 2012 January 39 (1):182-3. Epub 1900 01 01.

Volumetric ultrasound and computer-assisted analysis at the point-of-care: a musculoskeletal exemplar.

Mills DM, Cao K, Thiele R, Patwardhan KA

Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society.. 2012 2012 :2318-22. Epub 1900 01 01.

Reproducibility of musculoskeletal ultrasound for determining monosodium urate deposition: concordance between readers.

Howard RG, Pillinger MH, Gyftopoulos S, Thiele RG, Swearingen CJ, Samuels J

Arthritis care & research.. 2011 October 63 (10):1456-62. Epub 1900 01 01.

Role of ultrasound and other advanced imaging in the diagnosis and management of gout.

Thiele RG

Current rheumatology reports.. 2011 April 13 (2):146-53. Epub 1900 01 01.

Decreased influenza-specific B cell responses in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with anti-tumor necrosis factor.

Kobie JJ, Zheng B, Bryk P, Barnes M, Ritchlin CT, Tabechian DA, Anandarajah AP, Looney RJ, Thiele RG, Anolik JH, Coca A, Wei C, Rosenberg AF, Feng C, Treanor JJ, Lee FE, Sanz I

Arthritis research & therapy.. 2011 13 (6):R209. Epub 12/16/2011.

The pathogenesis of bone erosions in gouty arthritis.

Schlesinger N, Thiele RG

Annals of the rheumatic diseases.. 2010 November 69 (11):1907-12. Epub 08/12/2010.

Comment on: An analysis of MRI and ultrasound imaging in patients with gout who have normal plain radiographs.

Kunkel G, Kaeley G, Thiele R

Rheumatology.. 2010 May 49 (5):1022-3; author reply 1023-4. Epub 02/19/2010.

Ultrasonography shows disappearance of monosodium urate crystal deposition on hyaline cartilage after sustained normouricemia is achieved.

Thiele RG, Schlesinger N

Rheumatology international.. 2010 February 30 (4):495-503. Epub 06/20/2009.

Ultrasound guidance for intra-articular injections of the foot and ankle.

Khosla S, Thiele R, Baumhauer JF

Foot & ankle international.. 2009 September 30 (9):886-90. Epub 1900 01 01.

Doppler ultrasonography in rheumatology: adding color to the picture.

Thiele R

The Journal of rheumatology.. 2008 January 35 (1):8-10. Epub 1900 01 01.

Doppler ultrasonography in rheumatology:adding color to the picture

Thiele, R.;.

Journal of Rheumatology. 2008; 35(1): 8-10.

Diagnosis of gout by ultrasound

Thiele, R.G.; Schlesinger, N.

Rheumatology. 2007; 7: 1116-1121.

Radiologic perspective on musculoskeletal ultrasound: comment on the editorial by Roemer et al.

Thiele RG, Evangelisto AM

Arthritis and rheumatism.. 2006 April 1555 (2):342-3; author reply 343-4. Epub 1900 01 01.

Radiologic perspective on musculoskeletal ultrasound

Thiele, R.G.; Evangelisto, A.M.

Arthritis and Rheumatism. 2006; 55(2): 342-343.

The use of Ultrasound guidance for intra-articular injections of the foot and ankle

Khosla, S.; Thiele, R.G.; Baumhauer, J.

Foot Ankle Int. .

Books

Ultrasound Guided Procedures (2009)

Chapter: Joint Injections

Ratings & Comments

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Ratings

Care provider's discussion of any proposed treatment (options, risks, benefits, etc.)

4.7 stars

Likelihood of recommending this care provider to others

4.6 stars

Explanations the care provider gave you about your problem or condition

4.7 stars

Care provider's efforts to include you in decisions about your care

4.7 stars

Concern the care provider showed for your questions or worries

4.7 stars

Patient Comments

5.0 stars

I was seen by Dr. Thiele and was very pleased with him, as I've always been in the past.

Jan 19, 2025

5.0 stars

Dr Thiele is friendly, very knowledgeable, professional a very good communicator/ listener and has always gone the extra step to provide the greatest help!!!

Jan 11, 2025

5.0 stars

All went well at both of my appointments. [...]

Dec 14, 2024

3.0 stars

[...] At times I don't feel like he understands my case. [...]

Nov 02, 2024

5.0 stars

I immediately felt like the dr was very concerned and caring, explained everything one step at a time

Oct 17, 2024

4.2 stars

After my blood tests, no followup by the provider. It happens every time. I know a couple of the test results need attention but I never hear back.

Sep 06, 2024

5.0 stars

My doctor was excellent

Aug 05, 2024

5.0 stars

Dr. Thiele is the best! He takes time to make sure everything is going well

Jul 14, 2024

5.0 stars

All my questions and concerns were addressed promptly.

Jun 10, 2024

5.0 stars

Dr. Thiele was very professional and answered all my questions.

Jun 08, 2024