Allison H. Payne

Allison H. Payne, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Radiology & Imaging Sciences

Lab

Research Interests

  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging - MRI
  • Image-Guided High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Therapy

I am a mechanical engineer with expertise in thermal therapies; specifically magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound. My research contributes to the translation and dissemination of this exciting technology through the development of new hardware, advanced treatment planning and monitoring and assessment techniques. During the past 10 years, I have led the team that designed a constructed a breast-specific MRgFUS system that is currently in clinical trials in Europe for treating breast cancer. I have additional expertise in mechanical design, MR imaging, temperature measurement, acoustic radiation force imaging and acoustic modeling.

Education History

Postdoctoral Fellowship University of Utah
 Postdoctoral Fellow
Doctoral Training University of Utah
 PhD
Graduate Training University of Utah
 MS
Undergraduate University of Utah
 BS

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Valencia Narva C, Payne A, Dillon CR (2026). Integrating temperature-dependent tissue properties into focused ultrasound computational models for enhanced treatment planning. Int J Hyperthermia, 43(1), 2606701.
  2. Adams-Tew SI, Johnson A, Crockett J, Adams KE, Parker DL, Winkler N, Payne A (2026). Impact of breast biopsy markers on magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound. Int J Hyperthermia, 43(1), 2632351.
  3. Johnson SL, Oden H, Vine H, Guenkawa P, Nelson B, Payne A (2026). A Magnetic Resonance-Compatible Fiberoptic Temperature Sensor for Measuring Focused Ultrasound-Induced Heating Without Artifacts. Ultrasound Med Biol, 52(8), 1664-1670.
  4. Jackson BS, Peterson N, Forbes T, Harris R, Nelson CK, Martin A, Geiger B, Moulder J, Lehnhof J, Dahl DB, Payne A, Dillon CR (2026). Inter-observer variability in breast segmentation and its impact on focused ultrasound thermal therapy modeling. Phys Med Biol.
  5. Richards N, Malmberg M, Oden H, Merrill R, Hadley R, Parker DL, Payne A (2026). Effect of spatial resolution and heating duration on accuracy of dynamic proton resonance frequency shift temperature measurement with k-space weighted image contrast reconstruction during focused ultrasound. Magn Reson Imaging, 131, 110679.
  6. Holman R, Oliveira T, Fletcher SM, Payne A, McDannold N (2026). AN IN SILICO STUDY OF LOW-INTENSITY FOCUSED ULTRASOUND DISPLACEMENT MAPPING WITH A 220 KHZ CLINICAL PHASED-ARRAY TRANSDUCER. Proc IEEE Int Symp Biomed Imaging, 2026.
  7. Rieke V, Payne A, Merrill R, Hadley JR, Oden H, Kline M, Zabriskie MS, Shah LM (2025). Design and evaluation of a magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound system for the treatment of cervical spine pain. Med Phys, 53(1), e70221.
  8. Nelson CK, Kline M, Payne A, Dillon CR (2025). Computational predictions of magnetic resonance acoustic radiation force imaging for breast cancer focused ultrasound therapy. Int J Hyperthermia, 42(1), 2452927.
  9. Iversen MM, Kline M, Smith EA, Payne A, Shah LM, Rieke V (2025). Ablation of cervical facet joints is safe and feasible with two magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound transducers as demonstrated by thermal simulations. Int J Hyperthermia, 42(1), 2500487.
  10. Richards N, Malmberg M, Oden H, Johnson S, Kline M, Merrill R, Hadley R, Parker DL, Payne A (2025). In vivo simultaneous proton resonance frequency shift thermometry and single reference variable flip angle T(1) measurements. Magn Reson Med.
  11. Singh A, Adams-Tew S, Johnson S, Odeen H, Shea J, Johnson A, Day L, Pessin A, Payne A, Joshi S (2024). Treatment efficacy prediction of focused ultrasound therapies using multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging. 15199, 190-199.
  12. Shao M, Singh A, Johnson S, Pessin A, Merrill R, Page A, Oden H, Joshi S, Payne A (2024). Design and evaluation of an open-source block face imaging system for 2D histology to magnetic resonance image registration. MethodsX, 13, 103062.
  13. Adams-Tew SI, Oden H, Parker DL, Cheng CC, Madore B, Payne A, Joshi S (2024). Physics Informed Neural Networks for Estimation of Tissue Properties from Multi-echo Configuration State MRI. 15011, 502-511.
  14. Cornelssen C, Payne A, Parker DL, Alexander M, Merrill R, Senthilkumar S, Christensen J, Wilcox KS, Oden H, Rolston JD (2024). Development of an MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) Lesioning Approach for the Fornix in the Rat Brain. Ultrasound Med Biol, 50(6), 920-926.
  15. Richards N, Christensen D, Hillyard J, Kline M, Johnson S, Oden H, Payne A (2024). Evaluation of acoustic-thermal simulations of in vivo magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound ablative therapy. Int J Hyperthermia, 41(1), 2301489.
  16. Adams-Tew SI, Johnson S, Oden H, Parker DL, Payne A (2022). Validation of a drift-corrected 3D MR temperature imaging sequence for breast MR-guided focused ultrasound treatments. Magn Reson Imaging, 96, 126-134.
  17. Oden H, Hofstetter LW, Payne AH, Guiraud L, Dumont E, Parker DL (2023). Simultaneous proton resonance frequency T(1) - MR shear wave elastography for MR-guided focused ultrasound multiparametric treatment monitoring. Magn Reson Med, 89(6), 2171-2185.
  18. Parker DL, Payne A, Oden H (2022). A k-space-based method to measure and correct for temporal B(0) field variations in MR temperature imaging. Magn Reson Med, 88(3), 1098-1111.
  19. Hadley JR, Oden H, Merrill R, Adams SI, Rieke V, Payne A, Parker DL (2021). Improving image quality in transcranial magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound using a conductive screen. Magn Reson Imaging, 83, 41-49.
  20. Zimmerman BE, Johnson SL, Oden HA, Shea JE, Factor RE, Joshi SC, Payne AH (2021). Histology to 3D in vivo MR registration for volumetric evaluation of MRgFUS treatment assessment biomarkers. Sci Rep, 11(1), 18923.
  21. Payne A, Chopra R, Ellens N, Chen L, Ghanouni P, Sammet S, Diederich C, Ter Haar G, Parker D, Moonen C, Stafford J, Moros E, Schlesinger D, Benedict S, Wear K, Partanen A, Farahani K (2021). AAPM Task Group 241: A medical physicist's guide to MRI-guided focused ultrasound body systems. Med Phys, 48(9), e772-e806.
  22. McLean M, Parker DL, Oden H, Payne A (2021). A T1-based correction method for proton resonance frequency shift thermometry in breast tissue. Med Phys, 48(9), 4719-4729.
  23. Cross CG, Payne AH, Hawryluk GW, Haag-Roeger R, Cheeniyil R, Brady D, Oden H, Minoshima S, Cross DJ, Anzai Y (2021). Technical Note: Quantification of blood-spinal cord barrier permeability after application of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound in spinal cord injury. Med Phys, 48(8), 4395-4401.
  24. Merrill R, Oden H, Dillon C, Bitton R, Ghanouni P, Payne A (2021). Design and evaluation of an open-source, conformable skin-cooling system for body magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound treatments. Int J Hyperthermia, 38(1), 679-690.
  25. Hansen M, Christensen D, Payne A (2021). Experimental validation of acoustic and thermal modeling in heterogeneous phantoms using the hybrid angular spectrum method. Int J Hyperthermia, 38(1), 1617-1626.
  26. Hofstetter LW, Odeen H, Bolster BD, Christensen D, Payne A, Parker DL (2020). Magnetic resonance shear wave elastography using transient acoustic radiation force excitations and sinusoidal displacement encoding. Phys Med Biol, 66(5).
  27. Zimmerman B, Johnson S, Oden H, Shea J, Foote MD, Winkler N, Joshi S, Payne A (2020). Learning multiparametric biomarkers for assessing MR-guided focused ultrasound treatments. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng, In Press.
  28. A Payne, R Merrill, E Minalga, JR Hadley, H Oden, LW Hofstetter, S Johnson, C Tunon de Lara, S Auriol, S Recoo, E Dumont, DL Parker, J Palussiere (2020). A breast-specific MR guided focused ultrasound platform and treatment protocol: first-in-human technical evaluation. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng, In Press.
  29. Payne A, Minalga E, Merrill R, Parker DL, Hadley JR (2020). Technical Note: Effect of transducer position and ground plane configuration on image quality in MR-guided focused ultrasound therapies. Med Phys, 47(6), 2350-2355.
  30. Hofstetter LW, Fausett L, Mueller A, Oden H, Payne A, Christensen DA, Parker DL (2020). Development and characterization of a tissue mimicking psyllium husk gelatin phantom for ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. Int J Hyperthermia, 37(1), 283-290.
  31. Dillon C, Rezvani M, McLean H, Adelman M, Dassel M, Jarboe E, Jant-Amsbury M, Payne A (2019). A tissue preparation to characterize uterine fibroid tissue properties for thermal therapies. Med Phys, 46(8), 3344-3355.
  32. Svedin BT, Payne A, Parker DL (2019). Simultaneous proton resonance frequency shift thermometry and T1 measurements using a single reference variable flip angle T1 method. Magn Reson Med, 81(5), 3138-3152.
  33. Hofstetter LW, Oden H, Bolster BD Jr, Mueller A, Christensen DA, Payne A, Parker DL (2019). Efficient shear wave elastography using transient acoustic radiation force excitations and MR displacement encoding. Magn Reson Med, 81(5), 3153-3167.
  34. Svedin BT, Payne A, Bolster BD Jr, Parker DL (2017). Multiecho pseudo-golden angle stack of stars thermometry with high spatial and temporal resolution using k-space weighted image contrast. Magn Reson Med, 79(3), 1407-1419.
  35. Shea J, de Bever J, Kholmovski E, Beal H, Hadley JR, Minalga E, Salama ME, Marrouche NF, Payne A (2017). Effect of applied energy in renal sympathetic denervation with magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound in a porcine model. J Ther Ultrasound, 5, 16.
  36. Frazier N, Payne A, Dillon C, Subrahmanyam N, Ghandehari H (2017). Enhanced efficacy of combination heat shock targeted polymer therapeutics with high intensity focused ultrasound. Nanomedicine, 13(3), 1235-1243.
  37. Frazier N, Payne A, de Bever J, Dillon C, Panda A, Subrahmanyam N, Ghandehari H (2016). High intensity focused ultrasound hyperthermia for enhanced macromolecular delivery. J Control Release, 241, 186-193.
  38. Farrer AI, Almquist S, Dillon CR, Neumayer LA, Parker DL, Christensen DA, Payne A (2016). Phase aberration simulation study of MRgFUS breast treatments. Med Phys, 43(3), 1374-84.
  39. Koopmann M, Shea J, Kholmovski E, de Bever J, Minalga E, Holbrook M, Merrill R, Hadley JR, Owan T, Salama ME, Marrouche NF, Payne A (2016). Renal sympathetic denervation using MR-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound in a porcine model. J Ther Ultrasound, 4, 3.
  40. Dillon CR, Borasi G, Payne A (2016). Analytical estimation of ultrasound properties, thermal diffusivity, and perfusion using magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound temperature data. Phys Med Biol, 61(2), 923-36.
  41. Dillon C, Roemer R, Payne A (2015). Magnetic resonance temperature imaging-based quantification of blood flow-related energy losses. NMR Biomed, 28(7), 840-51.
  42. Payne A, de Bever J, Farrer A, Coats B, Parker DL, Christensen DA (2015). A simulation technique for 3D MR-guided acoustic radiation force imaging. Med Phys, 42(2), 674-84.
  43. Payne A, Todd N, Minalga E, Wang Y, Diakite M, Hadley R, Merrill R, Factor R, Neumayer L, Parker DL (2013). In vivo evaluation of a breast-specific magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound system in a goat udder model. Med Phys, 40(7), 073302.
  44. Minalga E, Payne A, Merrill R, Todd N, Vijayakumar S, Kholmovski E, Parker DL, Hadley JR (2013). An 11-channel radio frequency phased array coil for magnetic resonance guided high-intensity focused ultrasound of the breast. Magn Reson Med, 69(1), 295-302.
  45. Todd N, Diakite M, Payne A, Parker DL (2013). Hybrid proton resonance frequency/T1 technique for simultaneous temperature monitoring in adipose and aqueous tissues. Magn Reson Med, 69(1), 62-70.
  46. Payne A, Merrill R, Minalga E, Vyas U, de Bever J, Todd N, Hadley R, Dumont E, Neumayer L, Christensen D, Roemer R, Parker D (2012). Design and characterization of a laterally mounted phased-array transducer breast-specific MRgHIFU device with integrated 11-channel receiver array. Med Phys, 39(3), 1552-60.
  47. Payne A, Vyas U, Todd N, de Bever J, Christensen DA, Parker DL (2011). The effect of electronically steering a phased array ultrasound transducer on near-field tissue heating. Med Phys, 38(9), 4971-81.
  48. Todd N, Adluru G, Payne A, DiBella EV, Parker D (2009). Temporally constrained reconstruction applied to MRI temperature data. Magn Reson Med, 62(2), 406-19.

Review

  1. Oden H, Payne AH, Parker DL (2025). Magnetic Resonance Acoustic Radiation Force Imaging (MR-ARFI). [Review]. J Magn Reson Imaging, 62(1), 20-39.

Patent

  1. A. Payne, J.R. Hadley, R. Merrill, E. Minalga, D. Parker, L. Lighty (2019). Therapeutic Ultrasound Breast Treatment. U.S. Patent No. US 10,814,147 B2. Washington, D.C.:U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
  2. Bryant Svedin, Allison Payne, Dennis L. Parker (2019). Simultaneous proton resonance frequency shift thermometry and T1 measurements using a single reference variable flip angle method. U.S. Patent No. US 10,830,853 B1. Washington, D.C.:U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
  3. Dennis L. Parker, Allison Payne, Bryant T. Svedin (2017). Multi-Echo Pseudo-Golden Angle Stack of Stars Thermometry with High Spatial and Temporal Resolution Using k-Space Weighted Image Contrast. U.S. Patent No. US 10,353,034 B2. Washington, D.C.:U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

News & Podcasts

Huntsman Cancer Institute News