Professor Dirk De Ridder.
Professor Dirk De Ridder comes from a neurosurgical background and his research investigates neuromodulation to treat brain disorders. Neuromodulation is the alteration of nerve activity, through targeted delivery of a stimulus to specific sites in the body.
Summary of impact
Professor De Ridder and his research team have undertaken studies on tinnitus, chronic pain and depression, and are currently expanding their research to other brain disorders.
Their research findings have resulted in new methods of stimulating the brain. One method, the BurstDRTM stimulation, has had significant commercial success for chronic pain management. Professor De Ridder developed the product as far as he could before it was commercialised and he has supported the product launch with extensive stakeholder engagement and education.
Professor De Ridder continually adapts his research and says he is motivated and guided by failure.
Research
Professor De Ridder's PhD research on the treatment of tinnitus by microvascular decompression prompted further research into how to treat this condition, as this method did not work for all patients. (Tinnitus is when a person experiences ringing or other noises in one or both ears). For the remaining patients who did not benefit from this microvascular decompression method, initial research suggested that overactivity of the auditory cortex was the cause of tinnitus. Based on this concept, Professor De Ridder developed a method of transcranial magnetic stimulation of this area, as well as a brain implant with an electrode, known as BurstDR stimulation. This enabled some 50 per cent of those initial failures to be successfully treated.
Further research into why some patients still fail the treatment is based on the principles of network science, proposing that tinnitus and pain are the result of multiple networked brain areas which all need to be targeted simultaneously. Treating the abnormal brain network can be enhanced by using ketamine to transiently dissolve the individual's brain networks to rapidly reduce depression, chronic pain and tinnitus. One such project is being undertaken with Professor Paul Glue (Department of Psychological Medicine).
Another approach is currently being conducted by Professor John Reynolds (Brain Health Research Centre) and Dr Yiwen Zhang (Department of Pharmacology) studying brain stimulation of the reward system in order to recondition the brain by providing neurofeedback. This aims to enable patients to learn how their brain activity should be reconditioned to function in a normal way.
Collaboration
Collaborators enable the genesis of new questions and for hypotheses to be validated. Professor De Ridder's group has extensive collaboration with over 40 international researchers, both basic scientists, bioelectrical engineers, philosophers, neuro-ethicists, other medical disciplines, as well as hi-tech companies including Neuroelectrics (Barcelona, Spain and Boston, USA), Soterix (NY, USA) and Abbott. National collaborators include Professor John Reynolds, Dr Yiwen Zhang, Professor Patrick Manning and Dr Nick Cutfield (Department of Medicine), Dr Ram Mani (School of Physiotherapy), and Associate Professor Grant Searchfield (University of Auckland).
Most of the research is coordinated by Dr Divya Adhia (Department of Surgical Sciences), his closest collaborator, pivotal in every aspect of the research.
Details of the impact
A strong foundation for commercialisation
The BurstDR stimulation device has had a significant impact. The technology was commercialised by US health care company Abbott in 2019. The BurstDR technology is now used in all Abbott's Spinal Cord Stimulators (SCS) for chronic pain management, part of a business unit with sales of ~US$781 million annually. Prior to its commercialisation, Professor De Ridder developed the product as much as possible over a six-year period and disseminated this research through lectures and publications. He had a network of people who were interested in partnering with him – the 'De Ridder Network' – who helped to come up with new questions and validate hypotheses.
Brad Maruca.
By the time Professor De Ridder approached Abbott the patent was already filed and the product well-known. Brad Maruca, Divisional Vice President, Global Clinical Affairs, Abbott, says this is the right approach for researchers who have a potential to commercialise a product.
“Take a product as far as you can – have a prototype, first-in-man feasibility test, proof-of-concept, experiment with manufacturing scale-up. Show that this works, take out as many unknowns as possible, take it as close to commercially ready as it can be. From a company perspective, it removes risk which increases its inherent value.”
Launching the product
In the two years following the product launch, Professor De Ridder travelled the world with Brad to educate clinicians and researchers about BurstDR. This process enabled them to get to know each other as well as to disseminate the word about the product. As Professor De Ridder is a medical doctor, this helped with describing the product to other doctors and enhanced the uptake of the product.
Looking forward
The process of development has been iterative and achieved great success with BurstDR. There is further opportunity to leverage the technology into other anatomical targets, such as the dorsal root ganglion (a cluster of neurons) in the spine, or deep brain stimulation. This method of treatment removes the sensation of stimulation, which can be painful or annoying for some patients in the spinal cord.
As part of his work, Professor De Ridder now runs a non-invasive neuromodulation clinic in Belgium where he is able to apply his research findings to a wide population. The clinical failures again drive new questions that can be scientifically researched in New Zealand, and lead to the development of new products.
Read more about BurstDR on the Abbott website
Key points
- Collaboration is key to development of further research
- Be motivated and guided by failure
- Take the product as far as you can before joining with a commercial partner
- Market yourself and your product to your stakeholders