UNB Institute of Biomedical Engineering History
- 1957
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Opening of Forest Hill Rehab
Dr. Lynn Bashow, Director
- 1957
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TARGPR Formed
Technical Assistance and Research Group for Physical Rehabilitation (TARGPR)
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Prosthetic Research Centre (PRTUs) Formed
Federal funding from the government of Canada
- 1965
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Bioengineering Institute Established
Robert N. Scott founder and Director
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First Graduate Students
Libbey, Sridhar
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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
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Vaughn Dunfield, Senior Research Associate
- 1966
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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
- 1967
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First Full Time Occupational Therapist Hired
Kathy Carr/Royama
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Forequarter Amputee Fitted
- 1969
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Animal Surgery Facility Established
- 1970
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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
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Clinical Engineering Service for NB Hospitals
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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
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First PhD Student Graduated (Phil Parker)
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Inaugural Meeting of the Advisory Council
11/18/1974
- 1975
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First prosthetic fitting at the DECH, Ontario Crippled Children's Centre
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Report "Progress in the Second Decade"
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Review of the Institute by Dr. Richard Cobbold
- 1980
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Robert Gander Appointed Research Professor
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MEC '80
Myoelectric Controls Course
- 1981
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First full time prosthetist hired (Zadok Wedderburn)
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Establishment of Prosthetics Research Centre at the Forest Hill Rehabilitation Centre
SCCR based program split into Clinical, Manufacturing and Distribution
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Relocation of IBME from Head Hall to current location, a small building previously used by Geology Department
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MEC '81
Myoelectric Controls Course
- 1982
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Dennis F. Lovely Appointed Research Professor
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First patient fitted at PRC
Jonathan Rector, 9 months old, May 1982
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MEC '82
Myoelectric Controls Course
- 1983
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CIBC Grant: $90K
"Development of Myoelectric Control Systems for Young Children"
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Murray Olive Hired
Beginning of Injection Moulding at IBME
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Contract with Hugh Steeper
Sole distributor of children's electric hands & hand systems for Canada (Liberty Mutual as US distributor)
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MEC '84
The first off-campus Myoelectric Controls Course was offered (at Wayne State University, Detroit)
- 1984
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First fitting of New Myoelectric Control System for Infants
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First distribution, by PRC, of Powered Prosthetics products from Hugh Steeper
- 1985
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First review of NBHMEP by Dr. Duane Zilm, Kelowna
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In Wrist Control System Developed
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UNB Test of Prosthetics Function published
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UNB Myoelectric Trainer Distributed
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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
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PRC Renamed "NB Limb Deficiency Clinic"
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Princess Anne Visits
June 26, 1986
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Clinical Engineering Internship Established with DECH
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Quadrimembral amputee - fit at 4 months
- 1988
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Report: "Into the Ninties"
- 1989
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Renamed: "Institute of Biomedical Engineering"
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UNB product line transferred to Liberty Mutual
Manufacturing and distribution at UNB discontinued
- 1990
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Edmund Biden Appointed Director
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NSERC Collaborative Research and Development Project with High Steeper
Coordinated and simultaneous control of a multifunction myoelectric prosthesis
- 1991
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Patent in Pattern Recognition Control of Powered Upper Limb Prosthetic Control
- 1993
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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
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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
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VICON 140 System Installed
Story Link: How Vicky Chester is volunteering her expertise to help kids with cerebral palsy1996MEC '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
Prince Charles Visit
April 27, 1996
Venture Campaign Submission
New Building Proposal
1997MEC '97: Issues in Upper Limb Prosthetics
Keynote speakers: Craig Heckathorne, RIC; Mickey Milner, Bloorview MacMillan Children's Centre
1998First Interdisciplinary PhD Graduates
Linda McLean
CANARIE Funding
Internet Video for Remote Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation Clinic Founded
Partnership with SCCR
1999MEC '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
2000Bernie Hudgins Appointed Director
Renovation Construction Begins October, 2000
Funding from W. Garfield Weston Foundation and MPHEC
Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (UK) Collaboration
Two-year project to investigate the use of electromyography to augment speech recognition system for cockpit applications
Canada Foundation for Innovation Funding
VICON, Force Plates, Upgrade Biosignals Lab
2001Canadian Information Productivity Award
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.
2002Official Opening of Expanded IBME Building
May 24, 2002
MEC '02: The Next Generation
Keynote speakers: Richard Weir, John Miguelez, Margaret Wise, Dick Plettenburg, Peter Kyberd, Steve Hughes
2003AIF 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
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
2004Chris McGibbon Appointed Research Chair and Professor in Kinesiology
Collaboration Begins with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
Experiments with Jesse Sullivan
2005MEC '05: Integrating Prosthetics and Medicine
Keynote speakers: Dr. Rickard Brånemark, Dr. Todd Kuiken, Professor Malcom MacLachlan
2006DARPA "Project Luke" 2006-2008
Partnership with DEKA Research to produce the "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
2007AIF 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.
2008AIF 3: BioTone – Clinical Tools for Neuromuscular Evaluation
Wearable sensor toolkit for assessment of limb strength, range of motion and muscle spasticity
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
2011MEC '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
2012Kevin Englehart Director
Coapt LLC Founded : First Commerical Pattern Recognition System
Partners: Blair Lock, Levi Hargrove, Jon Sensinger, Todd Kuiken
2013Jon Sensinger Associate Director
Clinic Name Change: Atlantic Clinic for Upper Limb Prosthetics
2014Partnership with B-Temia
Centre of Excellence in Dermoskeletics Research
Erik Scheme Appointed NBIF Innovation Research Chair
Mandate: Medical Devices and Technologies
Erik Scheme NBIF ChairMEC '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
201550th Anniversary
Events at Canada Wide Science Fair and Homecoming 2015
