Thomas Royston, PhD
Professor and Department Head
Interim Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Strategic Partnerships
Contact
Building & Room:
212 SEO
Address:
851 S Morgan St, MC 063, Chicago, IL 60607
Office Phone:
Email:
About
Lab Location: ERF 1072
Lab Website: Acoustics & Vibrations Laboratory
Lab YouTube Channel: MRelastography
Research Currently in Progress
The Acoustics & Vibrations Laboratory is involved in theoretical, computational and experimental research in acoustics and vibrations applied to medical imaging. Two major efforts are the Audible Human Project® (AHP) and high-field magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). The goal of the AHP, sponsored by the NIH, is to develop a comprehensive understanding and computational simulation model of how sound and vibration are generated and travel throughout the torso and the pulmonary system, and how this is altered by disease and injury. The outcomes of this project could impact both medical education, through improved training technology, and research by catalyzing the development of new acoustic imaging methods. Tom’s work in MRE, supported by grants from NIH and NSF, involves vibrating a subject or specimen in an MRI to produce an image of the propagating vibratory waves. From these images, one quantifies stiffness and damping, properties often altered by disease, trauma or therapeutic tissue remodeling.