Dr. Kelly Thorson is the manager of echocardiography services at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Stanford Children’s Health. He is also a lecturer at Stanford University Medical School, Department of Pediatrics, Cardiology Division. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Stanford is a center of excellence in congenital heart disease diagnosis and repair and acts as a regional tertiary center and a national/international quaternary referral center for the treatment of congenital heart disease.
Dr. Thorson’s recent research activities focus on fetal echocardiography and novel measures in vascular rings as predictors of outcome. Other research interests include the diagnostic utility of advanced cardiac imaging including, cardiac CT, cardiac MR, and echocardiography in congenital heart disease and myocardial mechanics. Research in the role of education in myocardial deformation and practical applications of this in echocardiography departments. He is also interested in 3D echocardiography and quantification of ventricular size and function in addition to the anatomic evaluation in fetal and congenital heart disease. Other interests include the practical application of education theory in the mentoring and education of echocardiography learners.
Dr. Thorson has volunteered with the ARDMS and the ASE for over a decade. Most recently, he previously served as Secretary of the American Society of Echocardiography.
He received a bachelor’s degree in Diagnostic Cardiac Ultrasound, and a master’s degree in Radiologic Science from Weber State University. He completed a Doctorate in Health Science from A.T. Still University. He is registered as an Advanced Cardiac Sonographer with Cardiovascular Credentialing International. He is also credentialed as a Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer in adult, pediatric, and fetal echocardiography with the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography.