Dr. Robert Rohling
Director, Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems
Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Robert Rohling is a Professor with a joint appointment in Electrical and Computer Engineering & Mechanical Engineering at UBC. Dr. Rohling's research is in the field of biomedical engineering with specialization in medical ultrasound. Dr. Rohling is also the Director of the Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems (ICICS).
Current Research Focus
Dr. Rohling’s general area of interest is biomedical engineering with specific interests in ultrasound imaging, surgical robotics and medical information systems. In ultrasound imaging, he is developing new acquisition techniques for both accurate diagnosis and successful therapy. In surgical robotics, he is working on the integration of ultrasound guidance. In medical information systems, he is using automated processing tools, such as artificial intelligence, to provide actionable information to the user. All of these topics have a strong translational component.
Example Project(s)
“Quantifying Organ Health Using Ultrasound”
Together with Dr. Salcudean, Dr. Rohling has created a spinoff company (Sonic Incytes) to produce a commercial device to quantify organ health using the ultrasound elastography inventions developed in the pair’s labs. Elastography provides a quantitative measure of tissue elasticity that is directly related to organ health (e.g., via liver fibrosis and fat content). The potential impact of this work is to provide an early diagnosis of organ disease, provide thresholds for determining start of treatment, and monitoring disease regression.
“Using Ultrasound to Monitor the Health of the Placenta During Pregnancy”
The placenta forms the interface between the mother and the fetus, so abnormal placental development or damage can have profound implications on the pregnancy and life-long health of mother and child. Preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction are examples of two diseases that are strongly linked to placental abnormalities and would benefit from early detection to improve outcomes. Our research develops and studies new ultrasound measurements of placental abnormalities, in particular the elasticity of the placenta. Elastography has shown promising results in preliminary research. The hope is that the combination of standard ultrasound and elastography will provide better measures for placental abnormalities, helping to identify at-risk pregnancies earlier.
Research Keywords
Medical Imaging, Medical Information Systems, Robotics, Ultrasound Imaging in both 2D and 3D
