Our Team at River Radiology

Our Radiology Specialists

Meet the passionate River Radiology team dedicated to providing you excellent care through our radiology services in Hamilton and Waikato.

Dr Peter Gendall

Managing Director
Subspecialist Musculoskeletal Radiologist
MB ChB University of Otago.

Dr Peter's journey in radiology began with his initial radiology training in Auckland, followed by a Fellowship in MSK Radiology at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in the USA.

His repertoire of past work has included years of bone and soft tissue tumour diagnostics at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, and time at the British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver.

Dr Peter was a leader of the team that purchased and operated New Zealand’s first 1.5 tesla MRI Scanner at Manukau Radiology Institute and has maintained a keen interest in MR imaging.

Over the last ten years, Dr Peter has noted the increase in focus on Sports Medicine together with musculoskeletal ultrasound and ultrasound guided intervention for musculoskeletal problems.

In the past, Dr Peter has acted as an advisor for ACC and for the Health and Disability Commissioner. He has also represented New Zealand on the CME committee of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists. As a keen teacher, Dr Peter continues to lecture radiographers and sonographers.

His loyalty and fraternity with his colleagues and patients here in Waikato motivated him to retain a presence in the city and led to the formation of River Radiology in 2012 to better service the community.

“I am proud to bring you this exceptional service and look forward to working with you in the near future.”

– Peter Gendall

Dr Nirushini Sathiyakumar

Radiologist
MBBS, MD(Rad.) Col, FRCR, MMED in Radiology (National University of Singapore).

Dr Nirushini brings extensive Radiology experience, from her time working in the sector in both New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

After completing her initial postgraduate training at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Dr Nirushini continued her postgraduate training at Waikato, including a year of fellowship training in musculoskeletal radiology with Dr Peter Gendall.

She is a fellow of Royal College of Radiology (FRCR) and also holds a post-graduate Degree in Radiology from both the Postgraduate Institute University of Colombo Sri Lanka, and the National University of Singapore.

Dr Nirushini is a hard worker, her time with Dr Peter Gendall has motivated her to stay local and fulfil the need for expert radiologists in New Zealand.

“I take pride in taking the best possible care of anyone who walks through my door.”

– Nirushini Sathiyakumar

Dr Pierre Struwig

Radiologist
MBChB (Pret), FC Rad Diag (SA), FRANZCR, ESNR Dip Diag & Interv Neuroradiology.

Dr Pierre completed his undergraduate training in medicine at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, after which he spent 10 years in solo private GP practice. He answered the call of academia in 1996 and, after a time in Neurosurgery, went on to obtain a Radiologist subspecialist qualification from the South African College of Radiology over the next five years.

After spending some time in the private practice sector in South Africa, Dr Pierre decided to relocate to New Zealand where he worked alongside Dr Peter Gendall, taking the opportunity to train further in Musculoskeletal Radiology under Peter’s guidance. A subsequent opportunity in Neuroradiology at the Wellington Hospital led him to move to pursue a wide-reaching career in Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology over the next decade. During this period, he managed to obtain the European Diploma in Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology and also became a citizen of New Zealand, including proudly supporting the All Blacks.

Dr Pierre still works closely with the Neurosurgery and Orthopaedic Surgery Departments at Wellington Hospital, performing advanced Neuro-diagnostic Imaging and spinal interventional procedures. One of his interests in the Neuroradiology field is aging and dementia, with the associated functional and white matter tract changes in the brain on MRI. He has been teaching neuro-anatomy and Neuroradiology to the Radiology registrars at Wellington Hospital on a weekly basis for the past eight years, something he describes as one of the more enjoyable facets of his work.

Pierre is currently studying towards the European Diploma in Head and Neck Radiology.

“I look forward to being of service to the Community."

- Dr Pierre Struwig

Dr Kirsten Kind

Co-Managing Director / Subspecialist Paediatric Radiologist
MBChB (Edin), FRCR.

Kirsten is a UK-trained paediatric radiologist who moved to New Zealand in 2023 with her husband and three children.

Kirsten completed her medical training at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, before going on to train in radiology and specialise in paediatric imaging.

Before coming to New Zealand, she spent several years as a paediatric trauma and musculoskeletal specialist at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, the largest children’s hospital in Europe, before leaving the UK for sunnier climates.

By gaining MSK and trauma experience at such a large children’s hospital, Kirsten is able to offer high level diagnostics for aspiring young Kiwi athletes.

She currently works part time with River Radiology, while working the rest of her week as a paediatric radiologist at Waikato Hospital. She maintains close relationships with the public-sector paediatric medical and surgical teams which helps her keep up to date with the latest imaging techniques and keeps her clinical skills sharp.

In her spare time, Kirsten loves to teach and can often be found doing ad hoc sessions with trainee radiologists or hosting tutorials with our amazing radiography and sonography staff.

"I love working with children and strive to ensure that our paediatric patients have the best experience when visiting River Radiology. I look forward to many years of working with the children of Waikato."

- Dr Kirsten Kind

Our wider team

Our specialists are supported by a wider team of staff who help manage our facilities, patients, bookings and more on a day-to-day basis. Get to know the friendly faces behind River Radiology.