Maker of life-saving devices

Volume 9 Number 7 July 8 - August 11 2013

Clinical Engineer Academic Specialist in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Dr Emmanuel Koumoundouros’ work is leading the way to the development of future new therapies for asthma using sheep, who respond to allergens like humans. He is also involved in giving premature babies a helping hand. By Annie Rahilly.

Dr Emmanuel Koumoundouros works on his two major interests; biology and electronics. He has a professional engagement as a Clinical Engineer at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and has worked in hospitals since 1980.

At first, electrical devices in hospital wards seemed out of place. But you only have to visit any ward to view the range of devices that are used to monitor, test and sustain patients.

Biomedical engineers, in particular Clinical Engineers, work side-by-side with all clinical staff to improve health outcomes. Having worked at St Vincent’s Melbourne in critical care and cardiac surgical units, he gained valuable experience and insight into the role of medical devices in the care of patients. 

Dr Koumoundouros has used experience in his field to teach both undergraduate and post graduate students at the University of Melbourne. 

“Today, nursing and medical staff in hospitals are more familiar and comfortable around a specific technology. But the biomedical professionals are multi-skilled; they can handle mechanical circuits, electrical circuits, information technology and can communicate with clinical staff with a broad range of technologies.

“Technology can be intrusive but it is technology that has improved design and delivery of medical equipment. I thank mobile phones for this advance as we are all becoming less intimidated by electronics and more curious about how devices work,” he says.

The process of designing and developing a monitoring system for use in a clinical setting is a long one; from animal trials, pre-clinical trials and human trials, biomedical engineers and clinicians work together to produce efficient, accurate, invasive and non-invasive tools. Designs of devices such as the electrocardiograph (ECG) that make the patient a part of its electrical circuit are designed to the highest standards. These types of devices, and indeed all medical devices, go through a rigid risk management process which includes certification, registration and listing by the Therapeutics Goods Administration in Australia.

Dr Koumoundouros is currently working on a number of projects with the aim of developing new monitoring and analytical equipment. 

Asthma is prevalent in the western world and particularly so in Melbourne and Australia in general. Collaborating with researchers at the Centre for Animal Biotechnology, in the Faculty of Veterinary Science and the Control and Signal Processing Lab at Melbourne School of Engineering, Dr Koumoundouros has developed a mechanism to measure airway flows and pressures to estimate parameters that define the mechanics of breathing in sheep models of airway diseases. 

Sheep have lung capacity that is similar to that of humans and offer an accurate comparison. The other common physiology that is shared by sheep and humans is the dynamics of breathing. 

Physiologists, immunologists, and biomedical experts have been working together at the school of Veterinary Science to examine the mechanisms of asthmatic responses. Episodes of bronchial constriction were witnessed with the Airways Monitoring System that was custom-designed to track the nature and extent of the asthmatic response.

It is anticipated that this trial will translate to improved monitoring in actual patients and possibly new therapies.

“I am pleased to be working with a truly multi-disciplinary team to bring forward a modern approach to problem-solving. My students are exposed to these new ideas and challenges and are encouraged to be a part of some new and exciting projects. This is the application of Engineering to Life Sciences,” Dr Koumoundouros says.

There are a number of research programs about to start at the Mercy Hospital for Women with a team from the University of Melbourne. The team will be working closely with pre-term babies and their carers. 

Pre-term or premature babies are often born with stiff lungs and find it difficult to breathe without mechanical assistance. 

As organs, lungs are very compliant to air volume and in the case of under-developed lungs, stiff lungs or poorly compliant lungs, specialised nursing and medical staff, and complex equipment are required to monitor the infants closely. Further research is required to understand underdeveloped lung tissue mechanics to find solutions to the problem.

Technology moves swiftly in the medical field. As biomedical engineers work towards what is possible with wireless networks and medical information technologies, they are committed to working with and alongside clinical experts to improve the health of the community.

www.cab.unimelb.edu.au/