VHB:Another Great News!!!Victhom appoints six to scientific advisory board
2009-02-27 10:37 EST - News Release
Mr. Normand Rivard reports
VICTHOM ANNOUNCES THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ITS NEW SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD
Victhom Human Bionics Inc. has established a six-member scientific advisory board (SAB) that will bring broad-ranging scientific expertise to the Neurobionix division of the company. Nader Kameli, chief operating officer of the Neurobionix division, said, "Every member of our new SAB provides specific expertise and knowledge to establish Victhom as a world-class leader in the field of neuromodulation for the restoration and treatment of gait disorders." He further mentioned, "All members of our SAB will participate actively in developing the next generation of neuromodulation products to address gait disorders and are committed to helping us succeed in this endeavour by bringing proven solutions to patients around the globe."
The SAB's purpose is to assist the company's technical and scientific teams in assessing the merit and application of innovative solutions that deliver sound therapies to patients suffering from gait disorders. This scientific advisory board collectively brings more than 200 years of experience in the field of peripheral nerve neuromodulation to Victhom.
Mr. Kameli concluded: "I am proud to have these distinguished scientists on our side as we develop a portfolio of capabilities into our products and offer a diverse set of solutions to physicians to treat their patients. It is obvious from their past and current research that they share our passion for helping patients with partial paralysis live better and more productive lives."
Members of the SAB
Dr. Andy Hoffer, PhD
Dr. Hoffer is professor of biomedical physiology and kinesiology, director of the neurokinesiology laboratory and director of the Centre for Disability Independence Research and Education at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Burnaby, B.C. Dr. Hoffer received a PhD in biophysics from Johns Hopkins University for his pioneering design of nerve cuffs for recording peripheral nerve activity during movement. In 1997, he founded Neurostream Technologies, a Simon Fraser University spinoff research and development company that designed the Neurostep, the first fully implanted assistive system for walking in patients with foot drop. In 2004, this technology was acquired by Victhom and Dr. Hoffer has continued to serve as expert scientific adviser to Victhom. Dr. Hoffer is a founding member of the International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society (IFESS) and currently serves on the IFESS board of directors.
Dr. Gerald Loeb, MD
Dr. Loeb is professor of biomedical engineering and neurology, and director of the medical device development facility at the University of Southern California. Dr. Loeb was one of the original developers of the cochlear implant to restore hearing to the deaf and was chief scientist for Advance Bionics Corp. from 1994 to 1999, manufacturers of the Clarion cochlear implant. Dr. Loeb is a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers. Most of Dr. Loeb's current research is directed toward sensorimotor control of paralyzed and prosthetic limbs. His research team developed BION injectable neuromuscular stimulators and has been conducting several pilot clinical trials. Other current technologies include biomimetic tactile sensors, inferential extraction of commands from residual shoulder motion and spinal-like regulators for co-ordination of multiactuator systems. These projects build on Dr. Loeb's long-standing basic research into the properties and natural activities of muscles, motoneurons, proprioceptors and spinal reflexes. They constitute one of the testbeds in the NSF Engineering Research Center on Biomimetic MicroElectronic Systems, for which Dr. Loeb is deputy director.
Dr. Douglas McCreery, PhD
Dr. McCreery received the BSc and MSc degrees in electrical engineering and the PhD degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Connecticut in 1966, 1970 and 1975, respectively. He lives in Pasadena, Calif., where he is director of the neural engineering program at Huntington Medical Research Institutes. His research interests include the development of neuroprostheses and devices for neuromodulation for the central nervous system, and the physiologic and histologic effects of electrical stimulation of the central and peripheral nervous systems.
Dr. J. Thomas Mortimer, PhD
Dr. Mortimer has a 33-year record of research in electrically activating the nervous system. This work has been documented in over 90 publications and 17 patents. In July of 2002, Dr. Mortimer became professor emeritus at Case Western Reserve University, where he maintains an office and continues to be very active in teaching. Dr. Mortimer is the president of Axon Engineering Inc., a company that has commercialized devices stemming from sponsored research carried out under his direction. The bulk of the intellectual property at Axon Engineering was licensed to a very large biomedical company in 2001. Dr. Mortimer's research efforts have involved the development of electrodes for neural prostheses and instruments to implant them. Devices that he has developed include devices used in pain management, restoration of upper and lower extremity function, respiratory pacing, visual prosthesis, bowel and bladder assist and scoliosis correction.
Dr. Milos Popovic, PhD
Dr. Popovic received the PhD degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto, Canada, in 1996, and the electrical engineer degree from the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in 1990. Dr. Popovic is chair in spinal cord injury research at Toronto Rehab. He is also an associate professor at the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto, and senior scientist and the activity team leader at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, both institutions located in Toronto, Canada. Dr. Popovic joined the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering and the Toronto Rehab in 2001. From 1997 until 2001, he was leading the rehabilitation engineering team at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Paraplegic Center of the University Hospital Balgrist, both in Zurich, Switzerland. Dr. Popovic's fields of expertise are functional electrical stimulation, neuro-rehabilitation, modelling, and control of linear and non-linear dynamic systems, robotics, power systems, signal processing and safety analysis. His interests are in the areas of neuro-rehabilitation, physiological control systems, assistive technology and brain machine interfaces.
Dr. Douglas Weber, PhD
Dr. Weber is assistant professor in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Pittsburgh. He is also a faculty member in the department of bioengineering and the centre for the neural basis of cognition. Dr. Weber received a BS degree in biomedical engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering in 1994, and MS and PhD degrees in bioengineering from Arizona State University in 2000 and 2001. He was a postdoctoral fellow from 2001 to 2003, and assistant professor (2003 to 2005) in the Centre for Neuroscience at the University of Alberta before joining the University of Pittsburgh. His primary research area is neural engineering, including studies of motor learning and control of walking and reaching with particular emphasis on applications to rehabilitation technologies and practice. Specific research interests include functional electrical stimulation, activity-based neuromotor rehabilitation, neural coding and neural control of prosthetic devices. Dr. Weber is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society, IEEE and IEEE EMBS, and the Society for Neuroscience. Dr. Weber regularly serves these and other professional societies as a peer reviewer for several journals in bioengineering, neuroscience, biomechanics and rehabilitation medicine.
We seek Safe Harbor.