I am Professor of Clinical Neurophysiology at Newcastle University, and Honorary Consultant in the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology in the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne. My clinical and research focus is in developing and testing novel diagnostic techniques for patients with neurological diseases. I work closely with patients, clinicians, neuroscientists, engineers and regulatory scientists to help to bring these to the clinic.

MUMRI (Motor Unit MRI); a new way to look at motor units.
Understanding motor unit structure and function in health and disease is of fundamental importance in neurophysiology. Clinical neurophysiologists use a variety of techniques to study human motor units, including concentric needle electromyography (EMG), scanning EMG, and ultrasound. Each of these have strengths and limitations, and no single technique provides a complete picture of human motor unit structure and function.
In this lecture I will describe the development and application of a novel technique which we have called motor unit MRI, or MUMRI. This uses a combination of diffusion-weighted MRI and in-scanner electrical nerve stimulation to reveal the activity and structure of individual human motor units in vivo. We have applied this technique to detect fasciculation in patients with ALS, and to investigate changes in motor unit structure in sarcopenia. Current work focuses on translating the technique to the clinic, both as a diagnostic tool and as a biomarker of disease progression.