We asked Dr Simon Judge, a Healthcare Scientist for the NHS working in Assistive Technology, to answer some questions about his MND research journey so far.
What is your current role?
I am a Healthcare Scientist for the NHS working in Assistive Technology. I run a team that supports individuals around the Yorkshire and Humber region who have the most severe disabilities – people for example who are unable to speak or move their hands. The Barnsley Assistive Technology team provides technology to help people communicate or control things like smartphones, computers, and TVs. The technology we provide is like that used by Stephen Hawking – it can allow people to control technology by just moving their eyes, lifting a finger, blinking an eye or twitching a cheek. The technology though is used by a wide range of people including young children that have difficulty in speaking because of conditions like Cerebral Palsy as well as adults who are considered Locked In because of an accident or conditions such as a brain stem stroke.
What inspired you to choose a science-based career?
I like making things and finding things out – so I think I’ve had a science and engineering-based career. Science and Engineering are great, but when you try and make things work in practice you end up in the world of design, social science and human computer interaction!
So to answer the question – a TV show called Johnny Ball Reveals All was something I remember inspiring me – Johnny Ball (who was Dad of Zoë Ball and Father in law for a while to Fatboy Slim!) was brilliant at demonstrating different bits of Science and how they could be applied in your life. I also remember being enthralled by ‘Tomorrows World’ and their whacky demonstrations of things like the new Microwave Oven, Toby Churchill – a UK entrepreneur engineer who created one of the first communication aids appeared on the show in the 70s and 80s (though I think I was too young to see those episodes)!
What subjects did you take at A Level?
Maths, Physics and Chemistry – I started Art too (mainly photography) but had to drop it. I’d really have loved to take Design and Technology, but it wasn’t offered.
Where did you go to university and what did you study?
Imperial College, London. I studied Electronic and Electrical Engineering and was lucky to be able to do a combined Masters degree (MEng) over four rather than three years.
Can you tell us about your career pathway so far?
I accidentally fell into this career – I studied Electronic and Electrical Engineering at University and didn’t know what I wanted to do afterwards. My options at the time seemed to be chip design, banking or management consultant – none of which sounded much like making things. I walked past the pin board (remember them) at Uni one day which had a type-written advert on it asking for volunteers over the summer at a local charity. This led to 10 years of immersion in design for disability.
At the time I was lucky to get to know a few people who were influential in research in Assistive Technology – including developing early Eye-Gaze systems and others looking at how language is represented for those who need these graphic symbol images to support their communication. I also became aware that a small number of NHS services existed, dotted around the country, that provided Assistive Technology and so I ended up working for one of these and becoming a Clinical Scientist.
One problem as a scientist and engineer working in practice in this field is that you cannot help but see things that could be improved… so I moved roles to a team where I could lead the team and also where I was able to be more involved in research. Since then I have been involved in a range of research – developing and evaluating new Assistive Technologies, investigating how technology is used and can be improved, and establishing what the need for assistive technology is across the country. This research supported services, including the Barnsley team, to expand and deliver services more equitably.
Having been involved in research throughout my career I have been able to complete a PhD by publication - collating my prior papers and work into a Thesis. I hope that this will mean I will be better able to support other researchers and clinical academics in perusing research questions in this fascinating and rewarding field.
What inspired you to get into MND research/work with people with MND?
MND is progressive and aggressive and over time will affect the speech and movement of almost everyone affected. I have worked with many people with MND over the years and seen first-hand that Assistive Technology can have a significant impact in helping people to retain communication and control over technology. We can do things better though – people living with MND do not always receive this support at the right time, dealing with MND is traumatic and challenging and there are many things to do – so knowing when it is best to offer support around communication and control is key. People living with MND often report that they want to be proactive and prepared but find the idea of future changes daunting. I am interested in how we can best monitor the progression of MND and use this to offer the right Assistive Technology, in the right way, at the right time for the individual.
What is your favourite thing about your work?
Sitting in the office listening to our team keeping the technology working for the thousand plus individuals in our region who rely on this for communication and control; working with individuals to try and solve specific challenges they have; and carrying our research to try and move the ‘big picture’ forward.
What is your biggest achievement in your career so far?
Supporting the Barnsley Assistive Technology team and other teams around the country to expand and meet the needs of thousands more individuals took over a decade of research, hard work and campaigning and I am proud that we achieved this.
What is the next step in your career?
I have had a haphazard career path into Healthcare Science and being a Clinical Academic. I would like to cement this by being in a place to support others to carry out the research and science needed to move the field forward. I would also like to be able to carry out some more ‘basic science’ research which the Assistive Technology field is significantly lacking. Having said that, I also still like making things and putting them into practice, so will always have an eye on this. To do this I am aiming to get National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funding as a post-doctoral fellow.