Brian Andrews

Brian trained in Cybernetics, Control Systems and Bioengineering at the Universities of Reading, Sheffield and Strathclyde in England and has held academic and clinical positions in the UK, USA and Canada. He has a long standing interest in human movement, beginning with his PhD work in 1972 at Strathclyde University that led directly to the development of the popular VICON motion analysis system.

PRESENT RESEARCH INTERESTS

At the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, Dept Neurosurgery Stanford and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, together with John Reynard FRCS, Graham Creasey FRCS and Magdy Hassouna FRCS we are developing advanced neural prostheses for the neurogenic bladder, particularly using novel non-invasive electrical stimulation methods. So far, a suprapubic conduit to the bladder, the Oxford “Bladder Button”, is under development as well as a smart intermittent catheter. These novel devices incorporate sensors to provide feedback on the bladder mechanical status that are used to optimize the use of anticholinergics or botulinum injections or to control modulating electrical stimulation applied to sacral afferents to suppress unwanted bladder contractions causing leakage. Early trials suggest that a better alternative to the widely used, but problematic, indwelling and intermittent urinary catheters may be possible.

In collaboration with; Ian McCarthy and Angel Gall at UCL and RNOH-Stanmore, Prof Gary Beaupre at Stanford, Prof Milos Popovic at the University of Toronto and Prof Holderbaum at Reading University, I continue to develop improved neural prostheses, some used in combination with robotic and advanced sensing and control technologies, to partially restore ambulatory function and facilitate a higher intensity of physical exercise to be achieved (FES rowing and inclined squatting) for cardiovascular and bone health & recreational activity in neurological disabilities.

SUMMARY OF RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS

Biomechanics and Human Motion Analysis At Strathclyde in 1972, together with my supervisor Prof John Paul and fellow PhD student Mike Jarret we developed the first TV/Computer/Force plate system for motion capture and human gait analysis. The VICON system www.vicon.com/ is a direct derivative of our prototype and today still embeds the same core hardware/software operations. This has enabled the fields of academic, scientific, clinical and sports biomechanics as well as CGI now commonly used in modern film production including such films as Titanic, Gladiator & Lord of the Rings.

Development of Neural Prostheses: I have been involved since 1984 in the development of neural prostheses using both surface and implanted electrodes. In 1987, together with Ron Baxendale of Glasgow University, we demonstrated that dennervated skeletal muscle can be re-innervated and electrically stimulated using implanted electrodes, using transplanted embryonic spinal cord grafts – this may lead to practical applications for neo-sphincters and functional restoration in low level spinal cord injury. At the University of Alberta, together with PhD students Kooi and Williamson, demonstrated the feasibility of a fast acting, reversible and localized block of myelinated nerve [Andrews & Kooi 1996]. The blocking was achieved using charge-balanced alternating currents that are suitable for use with neural prostheses having implanted cuff electrodes. This technique is now being explored for clinical applications including suppression of spasticity by blocking the sacral roots for bladder control and the dorsal ganglia for neuropathic pain suppression. With colleagues in the Nuffield Department of Surgery in Oxford, (Peter Teddy, Amjad Shah & John Reynard), and Cybernetics at Reading University (Kevin Warwick, William Harwin & Peter Kyberd), a novel 100 element microelectrode array implant has been developed to explore applications in Spinal Cord Injury and Cybernetics. The first human implantation in 2002 attracted considerable media attention, see for example:

http://www.expo21xx.com/automation21xx/15515_st3_university/default.htm

This approach potentially enables high-resolution interface with the nervous system with applications in prosthetics and brain-computer interfaces (Andrews et al 2001 and Warwick et al 2003) – this is now being pursued by other research and commercial groups

Applications of Neural Prostheses - Restoring Ambulatory Function after SCI: At Strathclyde my team was among the first to demonstrate: short range FES walking for incomplete paraplegics; self-adaptive machine learning and control techniques to FES; the combination of orthotics and FES “Hybrid Orthoses” to assist paraplegic and stroke ambulation. The latter included the development with my PhD student Alberto Cliquet of the medial linked KAFO orthosis – now commercially available as the “Walkabout” brace. At the University of Alberta, together with Ross Davis (neurosurgeon, Maine Medical Centre), demonstrated the first “Multi-Mode” implanted neural-prosthesis offering SCI patients bladder control and ambulatory functions (the Praxis 24 system was produced by Cochlear Corp and Neopraxis Ltd, Sydney Australia).

Application of Neural Prostheses - Enabling High Intensity Physical Exercise after SCI: At the University of Alberta, together with Garry Wheeler we demonstrated the feasibility of a neural-prosthesis for FES rowing after spinal cord injury as a mode of high intensity physical exercise. In Oxford/Brunel my team continues the development of FES rowing technology in SCI, MS and Stroke www.FESrowing.com. In collaboration with Drs Zavatsky, Hase and Halliday of the Department of Engineering Science at Oxford University and James Shippen at the University of Coventry we conducted the first biomechanical studies and simulation of FES rowing. FES rowing has now become an established track at the annual British Indoor Rowing Championships and is the subject of a permanent exhibit at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames. We are presently exploring the cardiovascular and bone health therapeutic benefits of FES rowing collaboratively with Prof Andrew Taylor MD in the Department PM&R (Harvard Medical School) and Professor Graham Creasey, Chief VA SCI Service and Gary Beaupre of the Stanford Medical School, Palo Alto CA.

CLINICAL, TEACHING, STUDENT SUPERVISION

In 1976, together with Mr Jag Chawla FRCS established the first Rehabilitation Engineering Unit within the NHS at Rookwood Hospital in Cardiff Wales. I have since been involved in the development of postgraduate and undergraduate courses for allied health professionals, surgeons, biomedical engineers and electrical engineers. Topics include Neurological Rehabilitation, Biomedical Engineering, Cybernetics, Control Systems, Neural Control, Anatomy and Physiology, Research Methods and Ethics at the Universities of Oxford, Brunel, Strathclyde, Surrey, Reading, University of Alberta and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland Ohio. I have been the main academic supervisor of over 20 PhD students at the Universities of: Alberta, Strathclyde, Brunel, Reading, CWRU, Oxford and Stanford – a number of whom are now leading academics in related fields.

SELECTED RECENT PUBLICATIONS (from 200+) see https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=tWV7ZA8AAAAJ&hl=en