Paul Hunter Peckham

Paul Hunter Peckham is an American biomedical engineer. He is professor of biomedical engineering and orthopedics at the Case Western Reserve University, and holds eight patents related to neural prosthetics. Peckham's research involves developing prostheses to restore function in the upper extremities for paralyzed individuals with spinal cord injury.

Early life and education Peckham is the oldest son in his family, where his father was a package salesman based in Elmira, New York. He completed a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering at the Clarkson College of Technology. He later pursued a Master of Science degree, and a doctorate in biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University. Peckham was based in a research lab based at the Highland View Hospital, where he was carrying out research in the field of spinal cord injury.

In 1977, Peckham met Jim Jatich, who had been left without movement in his fingers and a wrist as a result of a diving accident. This neural prosthetic, called Freehand, was further tested with Jatich, who was able to type using an electric typewriter six months after implantation. He has published over 200 academic papers, with over 15,000 citations, resulting in an h-index and i10-index of 60 and 132 respectively. He is cited as an inventor on eight patents related to neural prosthesis by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Service Throughout the course of his academic career, Peckham has held various administrative roles, including serving as co-director of the MetroHealth Rehabilitation Institute (within the MetroHealth System), the director of the Functional Electrical Stimulation Center, and founding the non-profit Institute for Functional Restoration at Case Western Reserve University. In 2004, Peckham spoke about "Paralysis: Natural recovery versus assistive technology?" at the White House/Veteran Affairs Conference dedicated to Emerging Technologies in Support of the New Freedom Initiative: Promoting Opportunities for People with Disabilities. Peckham was elected as a fellow to the National Academy of Engineering (2002), the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, and the American Spinal Injury Association.

Personal life Peckham has a wife named Sara and two children named Endia(Indy) and Gregory(Greg). Peckham also has three grandchildren named Hayden, Eloise and Beatrice (Bea).

Patents Kilgore, Kevin L., et al. "Implantable networked neural system." U.S. Patent No. 7,260,436. 21 Aug. 2007. Peckham, Paul Hunter, et al. "Functional neuromusclar stimulation system." U.S. Patent No. 5,769,875. 23 Jun. 1998. Peckham, Paul Hunter, et al. "Functional neuromuscular stimulation system." U.S. Patent No. 5,776,171. 7 Jul. 1998. Peckham, Paul Hunter, et al. "Functional neuromuscular stimulation system." U.S. Patent No. 5,954,758. 21 Sep. 1999. Peckham, Paul Hunter, et al. "Functional neuromuscular stimulation system with shielded percutaneous interface." U.S. Patent No. 6,026,328. 15 Feb. 2000. Peckham, Paul Hunter, et al. "Functional neuromuscular stimulation system." U.S. Patent No. 6,163,725. 19 Dec. 2000. Peckham, Paul Hunter, et al. "Functional neuromuscular stimulation system." U.S. Patent No. 6,718,210. 6 Apr. 2004. Kilgore, Kevin L., et al. "Neural prosthesis." U.S. Patent No. 8,532,786. 10 Sep. 2013.

Selected bibliography Ajiboye, A.B., Willett, F.R., Young, D.R., Memberg, W.D., Murphy, B.A., Miller, J.P., Walter, B.L., Sweet, J.A., Hoyen, H.A., Keith, M.W. and Peckham, P.H., 2017. Restoration of reaching and grasping in a person with tetraplegia through brain-controlled muscle stimulation: a proof-of-concept demonstration. Lancet (London, England), 389(10081), p. 1821. Menezes, I.S., Cohen, L.G., Mello, E.A., Machado, A.G., Peckham, P.H., Anjos, S.M., Siqueira, I.L., Conti, J., Plow, E.B. and Conforto, A.B., 2018. Combined brain and peripheral nerve stimulation in chronic stroke patients with moderate to severe motor impairment. Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface, 21(2), pp. 176–183. Wolpaw, J.R., Birbaumer, N., Heetderks, W.J., McFarland, D.J., Peckham, P.H., Schalk, G., Donchin, E., Quatrano, L.A., Robinson, C.J. and Vaughan, T.M., 2000. Brain-computer interface technology: a review of the first international meeting. IEEE transactions on rehabilitation engineering, 8(2), pp. 164–173. Peckham, P.H. and Knutson, J.S., 2005. Functional electrical stimulation for neuromuscular applications. Annu. Rev. Biomed. Eng., 7, pp. 327–360. Peckham, P.H., Keith, M.W., Kilgore, K.L., Grill, J.H., Wuolle, K.S., Thrope, G.B., Gorman, P., Hobby, J., Mulcahey, M.J., Carroll, S. and Hentz, V.R., 2001. Efficacy of an implanted neuroprosthesis for restoring hand grasp in tetraplegia: a multicenter study. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 82(10), pp. 1380–1388. Smith, B., Peckham, P.H., Keith, M.W. and Roscoe, D.D., 1987. An externally powered, multichannel, implantable stimulator for versatile control of paralyzed muscle. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, (7), pp. 499–508. Keith, M.W., Peckham, P.H., Thrope, G.B., Stroh, K.C., Smith, B., Buckett, J.R., Kilgore, K.L. and Jatich, J.W., 1989. Implantable functional neuromuscular stimulation in the tetraplegic hand. Journal of Hand Surgery, 14(3), pp. 524–530.