Role
Philip Breedon is Professor of Smart Technologies at Nottingham Trent University and leads the Medical Engineering Design Research Group. He is a Chartered Engineer and Chartered IT professional. He is a member of the UK’s Department of Health’s National Institute for Health Research invention for innovation funding panel (NIHR i4i) and holds a number of journal editorial positions. He also chairs the medical technologies and systems special interest group supported by Medilink East Midlands.
He has given guest lectures in a number of European Countries as well as in the USA, Canada and New Zealand. His research interests and latest projects centre on new and emerging technologies and materials. This includes wearable technologies, 3D printing of pathological models, additive and subtractive manufacturing for medical applications, surgical robotics, cardiovascular devices, extended reality technologies and environments, the surgical pathway and investigative research related to the utilisation of ‘smart materials’ for medical applications. He also has separate research interests linked to improvements in process control using the latest technologies, this research is currently in collaboration with a global food and drink company.
He supervisors a number of ‘live’ medical technology based student major projects, working with a number of healthcare professionals from across the UK. Philip believes that multidisciplinary research activity is a significant and major contributor in developing innovative research proposals. As PI and Co-I he and a multidisciplinary research team have delivered a number of NIHR i4i funded projects including projects linked to wearable technologies for rehabilitation and patient maintained sedation.
Through promoting his work and research activities he now work with a number of surgeons and clinicians across Europe and has given keynote lectures at the NSpine international conference on both surgical robotics and additive manufacturing for medical devices.
He was invited, and consequently visited six NASA centres across the USA to discuss potential collaborative research opportunities and to examine the latest materials and technology research and its applications. Most recently he visited the NASA Glenn research center to discuss potential collaborations.
Career overview
Phil undertook a PhD on a part-time basis over six years, whilst also having technical management responsibility for a large design department which included 35 technical staff. He was awarded a grant from the Academy of Engineering to present his PhD related research at the World Congress on computational intelligence in Hawaii, USA.
He was selected as one of eight academics from NTU academic staff to undertake a Champion of Academic Enterprise initiative to develop a range of postgraduate programmes with strong links to research, the MA/MSc Smart and Medical Design programmes. After developing the Smart Design programmes he identified a number of global companies, including PepsiCo and Unilever to sponsor a range of multidisciplinary postgraduate student projects. He was also one of only two UK delegates invited and sponsored by the UK department for Trade and industry (UKTI) to visit New Zealand to present his research and vision for smart materials research. He was invited to present his work - based on artificial muscles and rehabilitation - at the prestigious British Research Annual Reception, House of Commons, Westminster, London.
In November 2011 he proposed, organised, led and chaired the First International Conference on Smart Design at Nottingham Trent University. The conference attracted delegates from across the world.
As PI he has been successful in securing grants from a number of funding bodies including the National Institute for Health Research, invention for innovation fund (NIHR i4i). Philip developed a strategy to provide a funding stream through external support to realise his goals through the establishment and leadership of a Design for Health and Wellbeing research group within NTU. The group already has a number of successful research projects and the strategy aims to secure external funding from a broad portfolio of funding streams.
In February 2012 he was invited to chair the trans-European Biomaterial group for the UK. He now chairs the Medical Technologies and Systems special interest group in collaboration with Medilink East Midlands.
He was promoted to professor in 2015.
Research areas
Philip Breedon leads the Medical Engineering Design Research Group. He holds a number of journal editorial positions and has given guest lectures on smart materials in a number of European Countries as well as in Canada and New Zealand. His research interests and latest projects centre on new and emerging technologies and materials. This includes wearable technologies, additive and subtractive manufacturing for medical applications, biomimetics, surgical robotics, augmented / virtual / immersive technologies and environments, and investigative research related to the utilisation of ‘smart materials’ for medical applications. Phil believes that multidisciplinary research activity is a significant and major contributor in developing innovative research proposals.
Philip's current and planned research funded project applications focus on cardiac devices, including the monitoring of atrial fibrillation and difficult airway devices and patient sedation monitoring (both with NuH). Phil is also working on a corobotics research project to assist in spinal and general surgery. He is principal investigator for the NIHR i4i funded project, Facial Remote Activity Monitoring Eyewear (FRAME) which will focus on rehabilitation associated with facial palsy. The project is a collaborative research project with partners from Queen Victoria Hospital, Emteq ltd, Facial Palsy UK and Coventry University. The research project will design, develop and test miniaturised sensors integrated within the frame of eyewear to measure facial symmetry by tracking the movement of muscles, and the intensity of those movements.
Phil is also actively involved in the supervision of various live projects with PepsiCo Europe including the integration of robotic and vision systems.
Through promoting his work and research activities he now works with a number of surgeons and clinicians across Europe. He was invited, and consequently visited six NASA centres across the USA to discuss potential collaborative research opportunities and to examine the latest materials and technology research and its applications.
External activity
Phil is currently a referee and peer reviewer for the Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, i4i and the NIHR Research for Patient Benefit programmes.
He is also an Invited peer reviewer for the following:
- European Spine Journal
- Springer Journals, Soft Computing
- Applied Ergonomics Journal
- Disability Virtual Reality Technologies and Associated Technologies, conference, Nottingham, 2018
- Design Research Society, DRS 2016
- Wiley – Invited reviewer - technical merit, content potential market for new science publications
- Applied Clinical Informatics journal
- International Conference on Interfaces and Human Computer Interaction
And has the following board membership and conference responsibilities:
- European Spinal Journal editorial board member
- Journal of Health Design editorial board member
- International Programme Committee – International Conference on Disability Virtual Reality Technologies and Associated Technologies
- Invited faculty member and Keynote lecture, GSpine conference, Royal College of Surgeons , London 2017
- International Program Committee member - the 10th International Conference on Interfaces and Human Computer Interaction
- Chair new Medilink EM Medical Devices and Systems special interest group with trans-European interest
He is supervising a number of live research project, Nottingham University Hospital, Queen Victoria Hospital, West Sussex and the Trent Cardiac Centre, Nottingham University Hospital.
He is also working with and supervising live industrial projects based on robotic based systems with PepsiCo Europe.
Sponsors and collaborators
Phil is has worked or is currently working with the following institutions, research funding bodies and commercially based companies:
- National Institute for Health research, Invention for Innovation programme
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- Innovate UK
- Medilink East Midlands
- PepsiCo Europe
- Nottingham University Hospital Trust
- Queen Victoria Hospital, West Sussex
- Fraunhofer, Germany
- University of Nottingham
- Sheffield Hallam University
- Coventry University
- Leeds University
- Emteq Ltd
- Maddison Product Design
- Renishaw plc
- John Pacey-Lowrie (Ocular prosthetics)
- Nottingham Citycare partnership
- Datalink Electronics Ltd
Publications
Press expertise
- Technology based systems for healthcare and improving patient recovery and outcomes
- 3D / 4D printing
- Virtual and augmented reality systems for surgery and healthcare
- Robotic systems, including surgical-based systems