Expert Details
Accident Reconstruction, Biomechanical, Mechanical, and Neuroelectrical Medical Device Engineering.
ID: 728017
Texas, USA
Expert has utilized his accident reconstruction and biomechanical engineering skills to evaluate injury claims stemming from amusement park rides, industrial equipment and railroad equipment. He has reconstructed injurious events occurring on boats, airplanes and construction sites.
Expert has reconstructed accidents involving motor vehicles, commercial vehicles and other types of vehicles like golf carts and tractors. He can determine speeds, reconstruct rollovers, determine the order of impacts in multi-vehicle collisions and determine the consistency of damage between vehicles involved in the same accident. Expert is a qualified biomechanical engineer and can use injury information to help create a more complete picture of the accident scenario.
Expert has participated in several clinical trials for class III implantable medical devices. He has analyzed explanted product and has evaluated MDRs and product complaints. Expert has suupported surgeries and has trained surgeons and sales professionals in the implantation techniques for experimental medical devices. He has used human factors engineering to develop a device which helps evaluate patients as compliance risks prior to being admitted to surgery. He has authored PMA submissions to the FDA which were instrumental in the approval of a now-common neuromodulation therapy. He has participated in writing protocols and is a reviewer for an independent institutional review board.
Expert has been hired to reconstruct accidents involving motor vehicle collisions and to perform biomechanical analyses on the occupants. This type of assignment ranges from low-speed evaluations to complex accidents in which a determination of who was driving is required. Expert has reconstructed industrial and amusement park ride accidents. He has determined why occupants have fallen out of rides and the potential for injury in accident claims. Expert has even discredited a rape claim by using biomechanical engineering and human factors engineering to demonstrate that, as stated in the plaintiff's deposition, the events were not possible given the ride dimensions, human anthropometry and ride duration.Expert has analyzed cases involving medical devices and hospital equipment. He has been asked to determine if an implanted lead was cut during implant or explant of the system. He has analyzed hospital equipment damaged due to flood and other catastrophic circumstances. He has also consulted in cases regarding patent infringement.Expert has analyzed cases involving slips, trips, falls and falling objects. He has also analyzed the factors causing these events including ceiling tile failures and ladder failures.Expert has evaluated injury claims from equipment use for railroad companies, public transportation authorities and oil drilling companies.
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 1995 | Degree: Master of Engineering | Subject: Biomedical Engineering/Biomechanical Engineering | Institution: Texas A&M University |
| Year: 1993 | Degree: Bachelor of Science | Subject: Biomedical Engineering/Electrical Engineering | Institution: Texas A&M University |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2009 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: President/Principal Engineer | Department: |
Responsibilities:Expert provides expert engineering analyses in cases involving motor vehicle collisions, injury causation, industrial/railroad accidents, amusement park ride accidents, product liability and premises liability. He performs complex analyses to determine the effects of occupant restraint systems, the driver of a vehicle, and other occupant related analyses. Expert evaluates medical devices and equipment for failures and malfunctions. He is currently a medical device consultant for an independent institutional review board to determine the merit and safety of device oriented clinical trials. Expert also provides human factors engineering services for cases involved in litigation and the design of usability studies for medical device companies. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2007 to 2009 | Employer: EnteroMedics, Inc. | Title: Sr. Field Clinical Engineer | Department: Clinical Engineering |
Responsibilities:Expert provided biomedical engineering support to surgeons during the implantation of the MAESTRO system, a fully implantable class III neuromodulation device intended for the treatment of obesity. As a human factors engineer, Expert invented a patent pending device to assess patient compliance prior to enrollment in the Empower clinical trial. The device was responsible for the second largest number of patent exclusions after BMI. He was responsible for the design and implementation of surgeon and clinician training sessions which included laparoscopic implantation in porcine specimens. As a liaison between R&D and the surgeon investigators, Expert facilitated the transfer of clinical and engineering information. He contributed significantly to the continuing development of the MAESTRO system, supported study centers in Norway and Australia and developed analytical tools for analyzing patient data. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2005 to 2007 | Employer: Advanced Bionics Corporation | Title: Principal Field Clinical Engineer | Department: Emerging Indications |
Responsibilities:As a member of the emerging indications department, Expert supported clinical trials involving experimental neuromodulation modalities. He worked with an array of different device designs used to treat several indications including migraine, incontinence, chronic pain, and erectile dysfunction. He provided biomedical engineering support during implant and explant operations. Expert was involved in the development of surgical tools used for the implantation of novel neuromodulation devices. He was responsible for the implementation of surgeon training and experimentation involving human cadaver specimens. He designed and implemented a training program for the European sales team which included both didactic and laboratory training. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1997 to 2005 | Employer: Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc. | Title: Sr. Consultant | Department: Forensics |
Responsibilities:As a consultant for one of the world’s largest forensic engineering firms, Expert served the insurance and litigation sectors with analyses of accidents and product failures. Expert reconstructed motor vehicle accidents, amusement park ride accidents, boating accidents and accidents involving walking surfaces. He has analyzed injury potential/causation in incidents involving railroad equipment, oilfield equipment, children’s walkers, and falling objects. He provided support in lawsuits involving patent infringement issues. Expert also analyzed medical device and medical equipment failures. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1996 to 1997 | Employer: Cyberonics | Title: Clinical Research Engineer | Department: Clinical |
Responsibilities:Expert acted as a liaison between clinicians and engineering personnel. He provided engineering support in the operating room to surgeons in IDE study centers in the USA and Canada. He performed statistical analyses on the long term usage data of the NeuroCybernetic Prosthesis. Expert authored two volumes of the PMA submission to the FDA which led to market approval. He managed the data acquisition team and developed software to streamline the validation of clinical data. Expert also provided human factors engineering support and risk analysis for MDR investigations and complaint handling. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1996 to 1997 | Employer: Biomedical Device Consultants | Title: Biomedical Engineer | Department: |
Responsibilities:Expert designed and equipment and experiments for testing artificial and bovine arterial grafts. He also implemented a LabView based system for testing the porosity of arterial grafts. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1995 to 1995 | Employer: University of Texas Medical Branch | Title: Orthopaedic Biomechanics Fellow | Department: Orhopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory |
Responsibilities:As an orthopaedic biomechanics fellow, Expert performed biomechanical tests on cadaveric specimens to study the kinematics of joints, material properties of tissues and orthopedic surgical techniques. He also supervised medical students and orthopedic residents during research rotations. Expert developed an imaging and analysis system for the strain patterns on bone surfaces using the photoelastic technique and original software programs |
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Career Accomplishments
| Associations / Societies |
|---|
| Biomechanics for Collision Reconstruction, Texas A&M University Traffic Collision Reconstruction, Texas A&M University Society of Automotive Engineers, Member National Society of Professional Engineers, Engineering Professional Membership Texas Society of Professional Engineers, Engineering Professional Membership American Society for Quality, Division Member |
| Licenses / Certifications |
|---|
| Professional Engineer, Mechanical engineering, Biomedical Engineering, registered in Texas |
| Medical / Professional |
|---|
| Orthopaedic Biomechanics Fellow |
| Publications and Patents Summary |
|---|
| Expert has 9 publications and two pending patents. His publications are mostly in the field of human biomechanics. His patents involve a human factors engineering device which evaluates patient compliance prior to implantation of a neuromodulation device. |
Additional Experience
| Expert Witness Experience |
|---|
| Expert has spent 15 years working in the field of biomechanical engineering. He has applied engineering principles in the areas of accident reconstruction, injury potential/causation analyses, human factors analyses and medical device evaluation/design. As a forensic engineer, Expert has reconstructed accidents involving automobiles, motorcycles, pedestrians, amusement park rides, walking surfaces, public transportation, and railroad/industrial equipment. Expert has performed analyses to determine damage consistency between vehicles, the order of impacts in multi-vehicle collisions and to determine the driver of vehicles involved in roll-over collisions, as well as other accident reconstruction related analyses. As a biomechanical engineer, he is qualified to use injury based evidence from medical records, photographs and autopsy reports to create a complete and quality analysis. Expert is a seasoned professional and has testified over 65 times. Over the course of his career, Expert has worked in the area of orthopedic biomechanics, developing equipment related to the testing of implantable orthopedic medical devices, studying human kinematics, and testing the material properties of human tissue. Expert understands occupant dynamics/kinematics and can reconstruct an occupant’s motions during an accident. He is familiar with head injury causation, spinal biomechanics and the biomechanical properties of human tissue including muscle and bone. He understands environmental factors that may contribute to an incident including human factors |
| Training / Seminars |
|---|
| Expert has written and presented continuing education seminars in the areas of accident reconstruction, the biomechanics of low-speed accidents and human-airbag interactions. Additionally, Expert has created and implemented several training courses for surgeons and sales professionals on the implantation of class III neuromodulation devices both in the United States and abroad using cadaveric and porcine models. |
| Marketing Experience |
|---|
| Expert keeps current in his field and up to date on trends in the medical device industry. He is a reviewer of medical device protocols for an independent institutional review board. |
| Other Relevant Experience |
|---|
| Expert is an accomplished medical device engineer and has experience in the field of neuroelectrical engineering. As a clinical engineer, Expert worked in the field to advance the science of neuromodulation, or the application of electricity to a group of nerve fibers to reach a therapeutic result. Expert comprehends neuroscience principles and the generation/cessation of action potentials with the aid of an applied electrical signal. He has worked closely with research and development departments to advance the design of tools and implantable devices used in the operating room and clinic. He has contributed to the content and design of study protocols used in clinical trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of medical devices. He has trained surgeon investigators as well as clinical sales teams on the implantation of these devices. Expert is familiar with Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) and Pre-Market Approval (PMA) processes. Currently, Expert spends most of his professional time reconstructing accidents and performing biomechanical analyses. He is a reviewer for an independent institutional review board. He specializes in evaluating medical device study protocols for their scientific merit and safety prior to being performed on human subjects. With the growing emphasis being placed on human factors, Expert also spends time helping companies design usability studies and designing usability into studies for medical device manufacturers seeking FDA approval. |
Fields of Expertise
biomechanical engineering, cervical whiplash, chiropractic injury, crash analysis, gait analysis, head injury, human impact biomechanics, injury biomechanics, injury reconstruction, neck injury, occupational injury, orthopedic biomechanics, orthopedic injury, personal injury, spine injury, brain injury, expert witness, forensic engineering, amusement ride accident, railroad injury, industrial accident reconstruction, accident analysis, accident causation, accident reconstruction, auto accident investigation, automobile safety system, automotive accident reconstruction, automotive crash analysis, automotive crash simulation, automotive human factors engineering, automotive seat belt, bicycle accident, biomechanics, bus accident, air bag, mechanical device, engineering, mechanical engineering, biomedical device, biomedical device design review, clinical engineering, biomedical engineering, clinical protocol, clinical trial design, bioengineering, brain concussion, abdominal injury, forensic mapping, accident photography, forensic investigation, spinal cord injury, personal accident injury, alcohol related injury, recreational injury, diving injury, fraud, automotive headlight, injury prevention, clinical study, automotive seating, automobile crash test, foot biomechanics, automobile crash detection, anthropomorphic, bionics, spinal cord, automotive impact protection, 510(k) document, preclinical research, clinical research management, clinical research, biomedical instrumentation, biomedical product development, orthopedic implant, automotive ergonomics, biomedical signal processing, knee biomechanics, electrical-mechanical system, automotive accident, bone mechanics, electrical engineering, spine, vertebra, forensics, biomedical instrument, accident, occupational safety, trauma, prosthesis, clinical trial, automotive steering system, automotive safety, automotive crashworthiness, automotive brake, automotive antilock braking system, anthropometry, accident investigation