Tim Denison

We are creating a new generation of physiology-inspired devices for restoring functionality to the nervous system. Our team works at the intersection of microelectronics, control systems, systems physiology, and health economics to advance bioelectronic therapies for neurological disorders. Our vision is to provide pragmatic therapies for intractable conditions such as generalized epilepsy, chronic pain, and disorders of consciousness, and make them available to the UK's National Health Service and the world. Our mission is to design and deploy pioneering instrumentation that enables first-in-human clinical neuroscience. These research instruments also serve as prototypes for therapy translation, enabling an assessment of the risks and economic factors to support successful approval by regulators and adoption by health services. Our work mostly falls within the "technology demonstration" (TRL5 to 6) of technology readiness levels in the NASA framework. Our current research falls into three broad themes: - "Smart" Implants: improving the efficacy of implantable bioelectronic therapy systems in the central and peripheral nervous system through novel physiologic closed-loop control methods. We are currently supporting four active clinical studies*; - Non-invasive therapies: minimising therapy invasiveness through advancing transcranial magnetic stimulation, and probing and modulating brain activity with headsets that enable targeted memory reactivation; and - Resource-limited Neurotech: the development of hardware and algorithms for deployment in resource-limited healthcare ecosystems in partnership with universities across the globe. Researchers interested in joining our laboratory should take a "systems perspective" for tackling problems that are hard, but important. A clinician-partner is involved in every project we undertake.

- Walking naturally after spinal cord injury using a brain–spine interface, Lorach, H., Galvez, A., Spagnolo, V. et al. Nature 618, 126–133 (2023). - Assessment of Safety of a Fully Implanted Endovascular Brain-Computer Interface for Severe Paralysis in 4 Patients: The Stentrode with Thought-Controlled Digital Switch (SWITCH) Study, Mitchell, P., Lee, S.C.M., Yoo, P.E., et al., JAMA Neurol. 2023;80(3):270–278. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.4847 - Towards network-guided neuromodulation for epilepsy, Piper, R.J., Richardson, M., Worrell, G., Carmichael, D.W., Baldeweg, T., Litt, B., Denison, T., Tisdall, M.M., Brain, 2022. - Diurnal modulation of subthalamic beta oscillatory power in Parkinson's disease patients during deep brain stimulation, van Rheede, J.J., Feldmann, L.K., et. al. (In press