Matthew David Robson is a British engineer, academic, and technology executive specializing in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), medical imaging, and quantitative image analysis. He is currently the Chief Technology Officer and a co-founder of Perspectum, and was formerly a Professor of MR Physics at the University of Oxford. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2024.
Career Robson began his career as a postdoctoral researcher at Yale University and subsequently worked in medical-imaging industry roles. In 2001, he joined the Oxford Centre for Clinical Magnetic Resonance Research at the University of Oxford. He later served as a university research lecturer and, from 2014 to 2017, as professor and director of MR physics at the centre. In 2012, Robson co-founded Perspectum with Stefan Neubauer, Rajarshi Banerjee, and Michael Brady. He has served as the company's chief technology officer since 2017. Robson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2024.
Research Robson's research has concerned magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), particularly quantitative imaging and medical image analysis. It has included work on functional magnetic resonance imaging and ultrafast imaging methods at the Yale School of Medicine, followed by research at the University of Oxford on high-field cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, myocardial T1 mapping, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In cardiovascular MRI, Robson has co-authored research on methods for measuring myocardial tissue properties. This includes Shortened Modified Look-Locker Inversion Recovery (ShMOLLI), a technique for myocardial T1 mapping during a short breath-hold, as well as studies of the effects of magnetization transfer on T1 measurements and of cardiac phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 1.5, 3, and 7 tesla. His work in this area has also addressed the principles and methods of cardiovascular magnetic resonance. A separate strand of his research has involved ultrashort echo time (UTE) MRI, which can image tissues with short T2 relaxation times, including bone and connective tissue. Studies co-authored by Robson have examined phosphorus imaging of cortical and trabecular bone, UTE imaging of cortical bone, clinical UTE applications, and phase-contrast UTE methods for imaging rapid flow. Robson has also co-authored quantitative MRI research on vascular disease, including T2 mapping of carotid atherosclerotic plaque components. Later work has applied multiparametric MRI to the non-invasive assessment of liver disease. A 2014 study co-authored by Robson evaluated the use of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging for diagnosing liver disease, while a subsequent study examined associations between MRI measures and clinical outcomes in people with chronic liver disease.
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