UNB Institute of Biomedical Engineering History

  • 1957
  • Opening of Forest Hill Rehab

    Dr. Lynn Bashow, Director

  • 1957
  • TARGPR Formed

    Technical Assistance and Research Group for Physical Rehabilitation (TARGPR)

  • Prosthetic Research Centre (PRTUs) Formed

    Federal funding from the government of Canada

  • 1965
  • Bioengineering Institute Established

    Robert N. Scott founder and Director

    Bob Scott

  • First Graduate Students

    Libbey, Sridhar

  • Research Fittings with UNB Research Components

    First trial fittings of the UNB myoelectric control units

    First All-Canadian myoelectric fitting jointly with the Ontario Crippled Children's Centre

  • Vaughn Dunfield, Senior Research Associate

  • 1966
  • UNB Myoelectric Control System and Trainer

    Myo-electric Control Systems: (Mk. II Control Unit, Mk. I Trainer)

    D.S. Dorcas, S.W. Libbey, R.N. Scott

    Myoelectric Control System

    Myoelectric Trainer

  • 1967
  • First Full Time Occupational Therapist Hired

    Kathy Carr/Royama

  • Forequarter Amputee Fitted

  • 1969
  • Animal Surgery Facility Established

    Animal Surgery

  • 1970
  • First "Short Course" That Would Eventually Evolve into MEC

    The Institute offered a three day “short course” entitled “Non-Diagnostic Electromyography in Physical and Occupational Therapy: Kinesiology and Myoelectric Control.” There has been considerable demand for a course on Myo-Electric Control, particularly from prosthetists.

  • 1972
  • Clinical Engineering Service for NB Hospitals

  • First Myoelectric Controls Workshop

    Dunfield and Scott conducted a one-day workshop at the Ontario Crippled Children’s Centre, Toronto, on January 9th, with participation by orthopaedic surgeons, prosthetists, therapists and engineers.

  • 1974
  • First PhD Student Graduated (Phil Parker)

    Phil Parker

  • Inaugural Meeting of the Advisory Council

    11/18/1974

  • 1975
  • First prosthetic fitting at the DECH, Ontario Crippled Children's Centre

  • Report "Progress in the Second Decade"

  • Review of the Institute by Dr. Richard Cobbold

  • 1980
  • Robert Gander Appointed Research Professor

  • MEC '80

    Myoelectric Controls Course

  • 1981
  • First full time prosthetist hired (Zadok Wedderburn)

    First Prosthetist

  • Establishment of Prosthetics Research Centre at the Forest Hill Rehabilitation Centre

    SCCR based program split into Clinical, Manufacturing and Distribution

    PRC

  • Relocation of IBME from Head Hall to current location, a small building previously used by Geology Department

    Move to Current Building

  • MEC '81

    Myoelectric Controls Course

  • 1982
  • Dennis F. Lovely Appointed Research Professor

  • First patient fitted at PRC

    Jonathan Rector, 9 months old, May 1982

  • MEC '82

    Myoelectric Controls Course

  • 1983
  • CIBC Grant: $90K

    "Development of Myoelectric Control Systems for Young Children"

  • Murray Olive Hired

    Beginning of Injection Moulding at IBME

  • Contract with Hugh Steeper

    Sole distributor of children's electric hands & hand systems for Canada (Liberty Mutual as US distributor)

  • MEC '84

    The first off-campus Myoelectric Controls Course was offered (at Wayne State University, Detroit)

  • 1984
  • Monographs on Myoelectric Control

    Monograph Monograph #1: An Introduction to Myoelectric Prostheses
    Monograph #2: Understanding and Using Your Myoelectric Prosthesis
    Monograph #3: A Bibliography of Myoelectric Control of Prostheses
    Monograph #4: Myoelectric Prostheses for Infants

  • First fitting of New Myoelectric Control System for Infants

  • First distribution, by PRC, of Powered Prosthetics products from Hugh Steeper

  • 1985
  • First review of NBHMEP by Dr. Duane Zilm, Kelowna

  • In Wrist Control System Developed

    In Wrist Control Unit

  • UNB Test of Prosthetics Function published

    Link: UNB Test of Prosthetics Function
    UNB Test

  • UNB Myoelectric Trainer Distributed

    UNB Trainer

  • MEC '85

    MEC courses would be held yearly at UNB (except 1990, at High MacMillan Centre) until 1993. From 1993 and beyond, it would take the format of course and symposium.

  • 1986
  • PRC Renamed "NB Limb Deficiency Clinic"

  • Princess Anne Visits

    June 26, 1986 Princess Anne

  • Clinical Engineering Internship Established with DECH

  • Quadrimembral amputee - fit at 4 months

  • 1988
  • Report: "Into the Ninties"

  • 1989
  • Renamed: "Institute of Biomedical Engineering"

  • UNB product line transferred to Liberty Mutual

    Manufacturing and distribution at UNB discontinued

  • 1990
  • Edmund Biden Appointed Director

    Ed Biden

  • NSERC Collaborative Research and Development Project with High Steeper

    Coordinated and simultaneous control of a multifunction myoelectric prosthesis

  • 1991
  • Patent in Pattern Recognition Control of Powered Upper Limb Prosthetic Control

  • 1993
  • MEC '93: Future Trends in Myoelectric Technology

    Guest Speakers: J.W. Michael, Med., CPO, FISPO, J.W. Varni, PhD., D.S. Childress, PhD., S. Hubbard, Dip. O.-P.T., B.Sc.

  • 1994
  • MEC '94: Reaching for Tomorrow

    Guest Speakers: J.W. Michael, Med., CPO, FISPO, J.W. Varni, PhD., D.S. Childress, PhD., S. Hubbard, Dip. O.-P.T., B.Sc.

  • 1995
  • VICON 140 System Installed

    VICON 140
    Story Link: How Vicky Chester is volunteering her expertise to help kids with cerebral palsy

  • 1996
  • MEC '95: Past, Present and Future

    Keynote speakers: Dr. Max Nader, Otto Bock Orthopaedic, Austria; Terry Supan, Orthotic Prosthetic Services, SIU School of Medicine; Carlo De Luca, Neuromuscular Research Center, Boston University

  • CIDA Tier 2 Linkage Project

    1996-2001

    Establishing a Biomedical Engineering Education Infrastructure in Latin America

    CIDA

  • Prince Charles Visit

    April 27, 1996

    Prince Charles

  • Venture Campaign Submission

    New Building Proposal

  • 1997
  • MEC '97: Issues in Upper Limb Prosthetics

    Keynote speakers: Craig Heckathorne, RIC; Mickey Milner, Bloorview MacMillan Children's Centre

  • 1998
  • First Interdisciplinary PhD Graduates

    Linda McLean

    LInda

  • CANARIE Funding

    Internet Video for Remote Rehabilitation

    Telehealth

  • Rehabilitation Clinic Founded

    Partnership with SCCR

  • 1999
  • MEC '99: Upper Limb Prosthetics Research & Consumer Needs

    Keynote speakers: Mary point Novotny, Amputee Coalition of America; David Gow, Princess Margaret Rose Orthopaedic Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland; Adele Fifield, War Amps

  • 2000
  • Bernie Hudgins Appointed Director

    Bernie Hudgins

  • Renovation Construction Begins October, 2000

    Funding from W. Garfield Weston Foundation and MPHEC

    New Building Construction

  • Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (UK) Collaboration

    Two-year project to investigate the use of electromyography to augment speech recognition system for cockpit applications

    DERA

  • Canada Foundation for Innovation Funding

    VICON, Force Plates, Upgrade Biosignals Lab

    VICON

  • 2001
  • Canadian Information Productivity Award

    Expansion Opening

    Awarded for UNB / Hugh Steeper Pattern Recognition Controller. Receiving award: Ted Boswell (board member of Weston Foundation, donor for IBME expansion), John Hayden, Kevin Englehart, Joan Boswell.

  • 2002
  • Official Opening of Expanded IBME Building

    May 24, 2002

    Expansion Opening

  • MEC '02: The Next Generation

    Keynote speakers: Richard Weir, John Miguelez, Margaret Wise, Dick Plettenburg, Peter Kyberd, Steve Hughes

  • 2003
  • AIF 1: Development of Wireless Sensors for Remote Rehabilitation

    Atlantic Innovation Fund

  • First New Brunswick Innovation Foundation Grant

    Using Internet Video Technology to Improve Healthcare Delivery to the Deaf and Non-Verbal Population in Canada

  • Health Infrastructure Support Program / CANARIE Project

    CANARIE

    New Brunswick Easter Seals March of Dimes was awarded the "Prescription and Assessment of Technical Aids using Internet Video" and the project was managed by the IBME. Additional HISP project collaborators were the SCCR, Extramural Program, and NBTel, while the NB Information Highway Secretariat provided matching funds. A follow-up project: "Remote Sign Language Interpretation" was awarded to IBME, funded by CANARIE.

  • Peter Kyberd: Canada Research Chair

    Rehabilitation Cybernetics

  • Atlantic regional Training Centre Startup

    Applied health services research training program: partnership between UNB, MUN and UPEI

  • 2004
  • Chris McGibbon Appointed Research Chair and Professor in Kinesiology

  • Collaboration Begins with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago

    Experiments with Jesse Sullivan

    Jesse Sullivan

  • 2005
  • MEC '05: Integrating Prosthetics and Medicine

    Keynote speakers: Dr. Rickard Brånemark, Dr. Todd Kuiken, Professor Malcom MacLachlan

  • 2006
  • DARPA "Project Luke" 2006-2008

    Partnership with DEKA Research to produce the "Luke" Arm

    Luke Arm

  • DARPA "Revolutionizing Prosthetics" 2006-2010

    Partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory to produce the "Modular Prosthetic Limb" and advance neural interfaces

    MPL

  • 2007
  • AIF 2: The UNB Advanced Hand System

    Supported by the Atlantic Innovation Fund, this project developed a smart electrode, a device communication protocol, and a dexterous hand.

    AMCS

    UNB Hand

  • 2008
  • AIF 3: BioTone – Clinical Tools for Neuromuscular Evaluation

    Wearable sensor toolkit for assessment of limb strength, range of motion and muscle spasticity

    BioTone

  • MEC '08: Measuring Success in Upper Limb Prosthetics

    Keynote speakers: Milomir Ninkovic, University of Innsbruck; the Clinical Team from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago; and Stuart Harshbarger, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

  • 2011
  • MEC '11: Raising the Standard

    Keynote speakers: Dr. Helena Burger, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; Dr. Silvestro Micera, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Italy; Dr. Jonathan Wolpaw, Laboratory of Neural Injury and Repair at the Wadsworth Center, New York

  • 2012
  • Kevin Englehart Director

    Kevin

  • Coapt LLC Founded : First Commerical Pattern Recognition System

    Partners: Blair Lock, Levi Hargrove, Jon Sensinger, Todd Kuiken

    Coapt

  • 2013
  • Jon Sensinger Associate Director

    Jon

  • Clinic Name Change: Atlantic Clinic for Upper Limb Prosthetics

    ACULP

  • 2014
  • Partnership with B-Temia

    Centre of Excellence in Dermoskeletics Research B-Temia

  • Erik Scheme Appointed NBIF Innovation Research Chair

    Mandate: Medical Devices and Technologies


    Erik Scheme NBIF Chair
  • MEC '14: Redefining the Norm

    Keynote speakers: Paul D. Marasco, US Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Dan Blocka, George Brown College; Linda Resnik, Providence VA Medical Center

  • 2015
  • 50th Anniversary

    Events at Canada Wide Science Fair and Homecoming 2015 50th Logo