Christer Grönlund

My research focus is on medical ultrasound imaging with vascular and neuromuscular applications.

Research qualifications: Docent

Contact

christer.gronlund@umu.se

+46 90 785 40 85

Works as

Adjunct professor at Department of Diagnostics and Intervention Section: Biomedical engineering and Radiation Physics

3B, Norrlands universitetsjukhus Umeå universitet, 901 85 Umeå

I am leading a research group developing methods for medical ultrasound imaging with vascular and neuromuscular applications. Our focus is on signal and image processing, using spatiotemporal statistical and deep convolutional neural network methods together with customized imaging sequences using programmable ultrasound systems (Vantage 256, Verasonics, and SonixTouch and DAQ unit, Ultrasonix).
Additional competences include electromyography (high density multichannel EMG), near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), and e-Health/Telemedicine.

Examina: Associate Professor Biomedical Engineering (2012), PhD Biomedical Engingeering (2007), MSc Engineering Physics (2002).

A domain adaptation model for carotid ultrasound: image harmonization, noise reduction, and impact on cardiovascular risk markers

Computers in Biology and Medicine, Elsevier 2025, Vol. 190

Usama, Mohd; Nyman, Emma; Näslund, Ulf; et al.

Altered probe pressure and body position increase diagnostic accuracy for men and women in detecting hepatic steatosis using quantitative ultrasound

European Radiology, Springer Nature 2024, Vol. 34, (9) : 5989-5999

Byenfeldt, Marie; Kihlberg, Johan; Nasr, Patrik; et al.

[Neuromechanical characterisation of muscles and their functional units using ultrasound imaging methods] State-of-the-art and future perspectives

ISEK XXIV Abstract book

Rohlén, Robin; Lubel, Emma; Grönlund, Christer; et al.

Aortic arterial stiffness associates with carotid intima-media thickness and carotid plaques in younger middle-aged healthy people

Blood Pressure, Taylor & Francis 2024, Vol. 33, (1)

Söderström, Martina; Grönlund, Christer; Liv, Per; et al.

Leveraging GANs for data scarcity of COVID-19: Beyond the hype

2023 IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Workshops (CVPRW), IEEE Computer Society 2023 : 659-667

Ali, Hazrat; Grönlund, Christer; Shah, Zubair

Translation of atherosclerotic disease features onto healthy carotid ultrasound images using domain-to-domain translation

Biomedical Signal Processing and Control, Vol. 85

Ali, Hazrat; Nyman, Emma; Näslund, Ulf; et al.

Multi-view carotid ultrasound is stronger associated with cardiovascular risk factors than presence of plaque or single carotid intima media thickness measurements in subclinical atherosclerosis

The International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging, Springer Nature 2023, Vol. 39, (8) : 1461-1471

Bengtsson, Anna; Nyman, Emma; Grönlund, Christer; et al.

Early adulthood exercise capacity, but not muscle strength, associates with subclinical atherosclerosis 40 years later in Swedish men

European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, Oxford University Press 2023, Vol. 30, (5) : 407-415

Fortuin-de Smidt, Melony; Bergman, Frida; Grönlund, Christer; et al.

Ultrafast ultrasound imaging can be used to access single motor units in deep muscles, but the underlying biomechanical source remains to be understood

Journal of Electromyography & Kinesiology, Elsevier 2023, Vol. 71

Grönlund, Christer; Rohlén, Robin

Reduced progression of carotid intima media thickness by personalised pictorial presentation of subclinical atherosclerosis in VIPVIZA: A randomised controlled trial

Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging, John Wiley & Sons 2023, Vol. 43, (4) : 232-241

Nyman, Emma; Grönlund, Christer; Vanoli, Davide; et al.

Carotid wall echogenicity at baseline associates with accelerated vascular aging in a middle-aged population

The International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging, Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2023, Vol. 39, (3) : 575-583

Nyman, Emma; Liv, Per; Wester, Per; et al.

Quantifying the spatial distribution of individual muscle units using high-density surface EMG and ultrafast ultrasound

ECSS Paris 2023 Oral presentations: Biomechanics & Motor control

Rohlén, Robin; Carbonaro, Marco; Botter, Alberto; et al.

Spatially repeatable components from ultrafast ultrasound are associated with motor unit activity in human isometric contractions

Journal of Neural Engineering, Institute of Physics (IOP) 2023, Vol. 20, (4) : 046016-

Rohlén, Robin; Carbonaro, Marco; Cerone, Giacinto Luigi; et al.

Interframe Echo Intensity Variation of Subregions and Whole Plaque in Two-Dimensional Carotid Ultrasonography: Simulations and in Vivo Observations

Journal of ultrasound in medicine, John Wiley & Sons 2023, Vol. 42, (5) : 1033-1046

Rohlén, Robin; Jiang, Biao; Nyman, Emma; et al.

Unsupervised segmentation and data augmentation in image sequences of skeletal muscle contraction by cycle-consistent generative adversarial network

2023 international conference on modeling, simulation & intelligent computing (MoSICom), IEEE 2023 : 474-479

Saboori, Arash; Grönlund, Christer

Modelling intra-muscular contraction dynamics using in silico to in vivo domain translation

Biomedical engineering online, BioMed Central (BMC) 2022, Vol. 21, (1)

Ali, Hazrat; Umander, Johannes; Rohlén, Robin; et al.

R2U++: a multiscale recurrent residual U-Net with dense skip connections for medical image segmentation

Neural Computing & Applications, Springer Nature 2022, Vol. 34, (20) : 17723-17739

Mubashar, Mehreen; Ali, Hazrat; Grönlund, Christer; et al.

Long-term exposure to particulate air pollution and presence and progression of carotid artery plaques: A northern Sweden VIPVIZA cohort study

Environmental Research, Elsevier 2022, Vol. 211

Nilsson Sommar, Johan; Norberg, Margareta; Grönlund, Christer; et al.

Optimization and comparison of two methods for spike train estimation in an unfused tetanic contraction of low threshold motor units

Journal of Electromyography & Kinesiology, Elsevier 2022, Vol. 67

Rohlén, Robin; Antfolk, Christian; Grönlund, Christer

Estimation of contractile parameters of successive twitches in unfused tetanic contractions of single motor units – A proof-of-concept study using ultrafast ultrasound imaging in vivo

Journal of Electromyography & Kinesiology, Elsevier 2022, Vol. 67

Rohlén, Robin; Raikova, Rositsa; Stålberg, Erik; et al.

Comparison of decomposition algorithms for identification of single motor units in ultrafast ultrasound image sequences of low force voluntary skeletal muscle contractions

BMC Research Notes

Rohlén, Robin; Yu, Jun; Grönlund, Christer

The beneficial effect over 3 years by pictorial information to patients and their physician about subclinical atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk: results from the VIPVIZA randomized clinical trial

American Journal of Preventive Cardiology, Elsevier 2021, Vol. 7

Bengtsson, Anna; Norberg, Margareta; Ng, Nawi; et al.

A Deep Learning Pipeline for Identification of Motor Units in Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

IEEE Access, IEEE 2020, Vol. 8 : 170595-170608

Ali, Hazrat; Umander, Johannes; Rohlén, Robin; et al.

Imaging carotid wall mechanical heterogeneity in ultrasound image sequences using Eulerian video magnification

Proceedings - IEEE 20th International Conference on Bioinformatics and Bioengineering, BIBE 2020, IEEE 2020 : 785-788

Jiang, Biao; Ali, Hazrat; Grönlund, Christer

Segmentation of Lungs in Chest X-Ray Image Using Generative Adversarial Networks

IEEE Access, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 2020, Vol. 8 : 153535-153545

Munawar, Faizan; Azmat, Shoaib; Iqbal, Talha; et al.

Inter-sonographer reproducibility of carotid ultrasound plaque detection using Mannheim consensus in subclinical atherosclerosis

Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging, John Wiley & Sons 2020, Vol. 40, (1) : 46-51

Nyman, Emma; Vanoli, Davide; Näslund, Ulf; et al.

Identification of single motor units in skeletal muscle under low force isometric voluntary contractions using ultrafast ultrasound

Scientific Reports, Springer Nature 2020, Vol. 10

Rohlén, Robin; Stålberg, Erik; Grönlund, Christer

A Method for Identification of Mechanical Response of Motor Units in Skeletal Muscle Voluntary Contractions using Ultrafast Ultrasound Imaging: Simulations and Experimental Tests

IEEE Access, IEEE 2020, Vol. 8 : 50299-50311

Rohlén, Robin; Stålberg, Erik; Stoverud, Karen-Helene; et al.

Imaging recruitment of motor units in voluntary skeletal muscle contractions using decomposition and ultrafast ultrasound imaging: A pilot study

2020 ISEK Virtual Congress Poster Abstract Booklet, International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology 2020 : 141-142

Rohlén, Robin; Stålberg, Erik; Yu, Jun; et al.

Ultrasound risk marker variability in symptomatic carotid plaque: impact on risk reclassification and association with temporal variation pattern

The International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging, Springer 2020, Vol. 36, (6) : 1061-1068

Stenudd, Isak; Sjödin, Elias; Nyman, Emma; et al.

Bilateral carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) and plaque measurements was stronger associated with cardiovascular risk factors than unilateral measurements: Results from the VIPVIZA trial

European Heart Journal, Oxford University Press 2019, Vol. 40 : 2036-2036

Lundgren, A.; Nyman, Emma; Norberg, Margareta; et al.

Classification of pronounced subclinical atherosclerosis: deep learning approach of carotid intima media ultrasound images is superior to clinical risk factors

European Heart Journal, Oxford University Press 2019, Vol. 40 : 2050-2050

Nyman, Emma; Karlsson, Mikael; Näslund, Ulf; et al.

Visualization of asymptomatic atherosclerotic disease for optimum cardiovascular prevention (VIPVIZA): a pragmatic, open-label, randomised controlled trial

The Lancet, Elsevier 2019, Vol. 393, (10167) : 133-142

Näslund, Ulf; Ng, Nawi; Lundgren, Anna; et al.

Ultrafast Ultrasound Imaging of Motor Units in Skeletal Muscle during Voluntary Contractions – A Pilot Validation Study by using Needle-EMG

41st International Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference, Berlin, Germany, July 23-27, 2019

Rohlén, Robin; Stålberg, Erik; Grönlund, Christer

Carotid IM-GSM is better than IMT for identifying patients with multiple arterial disease

Scandinavian Cardiovascular Journal, Taylor & Francis Group 2018, Vol. 52, (2) : 93-99

Jashari, Fisnik; Ibrahimi, Pranvera; Johansson, Elias; et al.

Carotid near-occlusion frequently has high peak systolic velocity on Doppler ultrasound

Neuroradiology, Springer 2018, Vol. 60, (1) : 17-25

Khangure, Simon R.; Benhabib, Hadas; Machnowska, Matylda; et al.

Precontractile optical response during excitation-contraction in human muscle revealed by non-invasive high-speed spatiotemporal NIR measurement

Scientific Reports, Nature Publishing Group 2018, Vol. 8

Lindkvist, Markus; Granåsen, Gabriel; Grönlund, Christer

Risk marker variability in subclinical carotid plaques based on ultrasound is influenced by cardiac phase, echogenicity and size

Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, Elsevier 2018, Vol. 44, (8) : 1742-1750

Nyman, Emma; Lindqvist, Per; Näslund, Ulf; et al.

Ultrasound-based Imaging of Motor Units in Skeletal Muscle Tissue

Medicinteknikdagarna 2018, 9-10 oktober, Umeå

Rohlén, Robin; Stålberg, Erik; Stoverud, Karen-Helene; et al.

Right and left heart dysfunction predict mortality in pulmonary hypertension

Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging, Wiley-Blackwell 2017, Vol. 37, (1) : 45-51

Henein, Michael Y; Grönlund, Christer; Tossavainen, Erik; et al.

Segmentation of Motor Unit Territories in Ultrasound Image Sequences of Contracting Skeletal Muscle Tissue

Medicinteknikdagarna 2017, 10-11 oktober, Västerås

Rohlén, Robin; Stoverud, Karen-Helene; Yu, Jun; et al.

Carotid plaque echogenicity predicts cerebrovascular symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis

European Journal of Neurology, Vol. 23, (7) : 1241-1247

Jashari, Fisnik; Ibrahimi, Pranvera; Bajraktari, Gani; et al.

Area measurement of carotid plaque comparing B-MODE, Doppler color and contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging

Atherosclerosis, Elsevier 2016, Vol. 252 : E191-E191

Nyman, Emma; Vanoli, Davide; Grönlund, Christer; et al.

Left Atrial Intrinsic Strain Rate Correcting for Pulmonary Wedge Pressure Is Accurate in Estimating Pulmonary Vascular Resistance in Breathless Patients

Echocardiography, Wiley-Blackwell 2016, Vol. 33, (8) : 1156-1165

Tossavainen, Erik; Henein, Michael Y; Grönlund, Christer; et al.

Can echocardiography and ECG discriminate hereditary transthyretin V30M amyloidosis from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?

Amyloid: Journal of Protein Folding Disorders, Vol. 22, (3) : 163-170

Gustavsson, Sandra; Granåsen, Gabriel; Grönlund, Christer; et al.

Common carotid intima-media features determine distal disease phenotype and vulnerability in asymptomatic patients

International Journal of Cardiology, Vol. 196 : 22-28

Ibrahimi, Pranvera; Jashari, Fisnik; Johansson, Elias; et al.

Common carotid intima-media measurements determine distal disease structure and vulnerability in asymptomatic patients

Atherosclerosis, Vol. 241, (1) : E164-E164

Ibrahimi, Pranvera; Jashari, Fisnik; Johansson, Elias; et al.

Carotid im-gsm is related to multisite atherosclerosis disease

Atherosclerosis, Vol. 241, (1) : E164-E164

Jashari, Fisnik; Ibrahimi, Pranvera; Johansson, Elias; et al.

Absolute quantifications of oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin concentrations by combination of differentially resolved spectroscopy and spatially resolved spectroscopy

Spectroscopy Letters, Taylor & Francis 2015, Vol. 48, (3) : 170-172

Lindkvist, Markus; Grönlund, Christer

Carotid artery plaque assessment within the Västerbotten intervention programme: VIPVIZA

Atherosclerosis, Vol. 241, (1) : E159-E159

Nyman, Emma; Grönlund, Christer; Vanoli, Davide; et al.

View publications in DiVA

Research groups

Group member

Biomedical Engineering

Research projects

1 January 2024 until 31 December 2027

How can risk communication be improved in primary care?

1 January 2018 until 31 December 2020

Causation and Novel Risk Modelling for Person-Centred Prevention and Control of Cardiovascular Diseases

1 January 2016 until 31 December 2024

Pioneering ultrasound imaging methods for neuromuscular diagnostics

1 July 2015 until 30 June 2018

NTC - Nordic Telemedicine Center

29 April 2013 until 31 December 2027

VIPVIZA

1 January 2013 until 31 December 2015

Improved diagnostic methods for vascular plaque tissue using advanced ultrasonic methods