Robert Channon

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Channon in 2021

Robert Derek Channon (born 15 June 1944) is a British engineer known for inventing an insulin pump for diabetics, and miniaturized helicopters for the UK military.[1] A diabetic himself, Channon developed the three ounce insulin pump to replace his own regular insulin injections.[2] The National Medical Research Foundation awarded Channon £26,000 to develop the pump.[3] In 1980, the National Medical Research Foundation awarded Guy's Hospital £40,000 to test Channon's pump in people with diabetes. The trial, under the supervision of Harry Keen, tested whether using the pump reduced the development of blindness in 30 people with diabetes.[2]

The insulin infusion pump and related inventions[edit]

In 1978 Channon was referred to Professor Harry Keen, a diabetes specialist at Guy's Hospital, who took him on as a patient. During a consultation Professor Keen suggested that Channon might benefit from a portable continuous infusion syringe pump developed at Guy's. Channon quickly realised that the paperback-book sized device could be dramatically improved. Impressed by Channon's ideas and initial prototypes, Professor Keen and his colleague Dr Pickup wrote to the City of Bath Technical School, where Channon was at the time a lecturer, requesting he be seconded to Guy's hospital to work on the clinical evaluation of his prototype.[4][5]

Image of the first prototype Insulin Infusion Pump designed, fabricated and self-tested by Channon in 1978–79.

Between 1978 and 1979 Channon designed and fabricated an insulin pump driven by a small compression spring with a programmable bore to allow different rates of insulin infusion. Channon tested this device on himself in what is believed to be the first time a background bolus regime was used to treat an insulin dependent diabetic. The device is now part of the Bristol Museums Collection.[6]

Channon's compact battery-powered motorised insulin infusion pump.

With the support of two National Medical Research fund (now WellChild) grants - £26,000 to Channon to fund his secondment and £40,000 to Guy's to support the clinical evaluation[7] - Channon developed a compact insulin infusion pump "no larger than a pocket cigarette lighter" and weighing just three ounces.[2] The pump could be set to a 3-stage decaying programme, which automatically delivered 3 infusions during the day with a successively lower dose on the 2nd and 3rd. In addition the user could manually operate the device when required to cope with the additional insulin required when eating a meal.

Robert Channon pictured in February 1981. In his left hand Channon holds his compact battery-powered insulin infusion pump. In his right hand he holds the Mill Hill infuser designed by Dr John Pickup and trialled at Guy's hospital.[8]

Channon's work received national, regional and professional coverage including articles in the Times,[3] the Telegraph,[9] New Scientist[2] and the bulletin of the Institute of Marine Engineers.[10] In 1981 the work was featured in the national magazine of Diabetes UK.[11]

Following a suggestion by Professor Keen, Channon also developed a 5ml syringe with a precision engineered mechanism for delivering doses of insulin with an audible and tactile click on each rotation of a knurled thimble, for use by blind and deaf-blind diabetics.[12] The dosage could be varied simply by increasing, or decreasing, the number of clicks given at each injection. Channon named this device the Multiject.[13]

Upper: The Multiject designed for blind diabetics to self-administer precise doses of insulin. Lower: The Portaject wearable insulin infusion pump, shown with cannula attached.

In 1981 Channon left Guy's Hospital to continue his work with Drs Martin Hartog and Richard Paisey at the Bristol Royal Infirmary. Channon then developed the miniature Portaject device.[14] Unlike the Multiject the Portaject is designed to be worn. It has the capacity for sufficient insulin for 24 hours (at the time insulin had to be refrigerated; at room or body temperature it would become unusable after 24 hours). Channon self-funded the design and fabrication work through his company Channon Medical Ltd. He filed a patent for the Portaject in 1988[15] but subsequently withdrew the application, choosing instead to donate his research to the field.

Clinical trials at the BRI were supported by a small grant of £4,500 from the National Medical Research fund.[16] Dr Hartog attests that "Portaject was the first device that allowed convenient repeated subcutaneous injections of insulin and led to the Novopen. Administration of insulin in this way resulted in a much improved control of the patient's diabetes and, consequently, to a considerably improved prognosis overall". Dr Paisey recalls that clinical trials were conducted with 20 patients and that "one of them continued for 20 years with the same device and achieved good glycemic control. He also designed and manufactured a belt to house the pump".[17] Another long term user, Stephen Dixon, wrote to Channon "Thanks so much for doing what you did. You truly helped transform millions of lives, including mine".

In 1989 Channon developed a simple device for protecting, lubricating and sterilizing a hypodermic needle.[18]

Other Inventions[edit]

The Nitrohawk Rotary Unmanned Air Vehicle

The Nitrohawk high performance unmanned air vehicle designed, built and flown by Channon.
Nitrohawk with its travel case

Over a ten-year period between 1988 and 1998 Channon developed a high performance radio controlled helicopter suitable for a variety of professional uses including surveillance, environmental monitoring and aerial photography. Nitrohawk was equipped with a broadcast quality digital camera with pan/tilt and 20x zoom. A novel gyroscopic stabilization system designed by Channon allowed the vehicle to hover in place without constant attention by the pilot, and allowing high resolution images to be captured or transmitted live without motion blur; performance that was state of the art in the mid-1990s.[19] A Nitrohawk was acquired to assist with stunt filming in the movie Skyfall.[20]

Animal warning system for road vehicles

In 1999 Channon developed an ultrasonic device that can be attached to road vehicles, with the aim of cutting the number of wild animals killed on roads. Channon noticed that while driving across Exmoor in his turbo charged car he didn't hit any animals at all until one occasion when his car's turbo charger failed. He deduced that the high-pitched whine of the turbo charger must be giving an early warning to animals and reproduced the same effect with a simple ultrasonic device.[21]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Inventor has bitter victory". Gazette and Herald. 28 March 2002. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Insulin pump calls the shots". New Scientist. Vol. 88, no. 1226. 6 November 1980. p. 369. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b Annabel Ferriman (23 October 1980). "Portable pump gives hope to diabetics". The Times. London. p. 5. The pump, designed by an engineer with diabetes, is to be tested in clinical trials on 25 to 30 patients at Guy's Hospital, London ... Professor Harry Keen, director of the Unit for metabolic medicine at Guy's Hospital Medical School, announcing the trial, said yesterday: 'There is a 10 per chance of diabetics becoming visually disabled after 20 years, and about half of those diagnosed by the age of 15 are dead before the age of 40. What the pump has done is to give us the opportunity to return a patient's metabolism to very close to normal' ... The pump, half the size of a cigarette pack and weighing 3 ounces, was developed by Mr Robert Channon, aged 36, a marine engineer with severe diabetes
  4. ^ "Breakthrough for diabetics". Evening Standard. London. 23 October 1980. ... Professor Harry Keen said that the new device had been perfected from previous prototypes by one of the diabetic unit's patients ... Mr Robert Channon.
  5. ^ Roy Heelas (23 October 1980). "A fresh lease of life for diabetics". Bristol Evening Post. Bristol. Marine Engineer Bob Channon (36) of Woodlands, Holcombe Bath, has produced a miniature insulin infusion pump ... Mr Channon is a lecturer in marine mechanical engineering and naval architecture at Bath Technical College.
  6. ^ "First miniature infusion device, Bristol City Council : Museum Collections". Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  7. ^ A breakthrough in diabetes research with the help of Society members, National Medical Research News, October 1980, Mr Bob Channon, a marine engineer with severe diabetes, asked the fund in May 1979 to support the development of a miniature insulin pump, which he had invented. Mr Channon has received grants over two years totaling £26,000 from the fund Professor Harry Keen, director of the metabolic unit at Guy's hospital (where Channon is a patient) applied to the fund for a grant ... National Medical Research fund presented Guy's with a cheque for £40,000 on 22nd October 1980 to enable the clinical evaluation to continue.
  8. ^ "The Mill Hill Infuser". Science Museum. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  9. ^ David Fletcher (23 October 1980). "Pump raises hopes for diabetics". The Telegraph. London. Hopes that diabetic patients dependent on daily injections of insulin may soon be able to lead a more normal life were raised with the announcement of an invention yesterday ... It is to be tried out on 25 or 30 patients at Guy's Hospital and doctors have high hopes that it will not only improve the quality of their daily life but free them from the worrying side effects of diabetes. The body naturally needs a slow delivery of insulin at night and between meals but a boost at mealtimes. The normal pattern of twice daily injections did not match this natural pattern and in consequence gives rise to complications such as blindness. But the new pump enables insulin to be delivered to the body at varying rates in much the same way as it would be delivered naturally. The pump has been designed and developed by Mr Bob Channon, 36, a marine engineer who has severe diabetes and who has tried the pump out on himself over the past six months.
  10. ^ Marine Engineer aids medicine, Institute of Marine Engineers, December 1980, Hopes that diabetics, dependent on daily injections of insulin, may be able to lead a more normal life have been raised by a special pump, developed by a member of the Institute ... It was designed and developed by Mr Bob Channon, a sufferer from severe diabetes, who has tested the pump on himself over the past six months.
  11. ^ "Insulin pump 'shrunk'". Balance. Diabetes UK. February 1981. Bob Channon is in the unique position of being a guinea pig for his own experiments. A diabetic, he has developed an insulin infusion pump, an updated version of which he has been wearing continuously for more than a year ... 'I short-circuit everything. I sit in my office, get an idea, draw it, make it, take it to Guy's and discuss it then try it on myself'.
  12. ^ "Bob, 37 Unveils Diabetic Aid". Bristol Evening Post. Bristol. 10 May 1982. Engineer Mr Bob Channon, aged 37, has invented a device which could be a major aid for 30,000 blind diabetics ... He has developed it with the encouragement of diabetics expert Professor Harry Keen of Guy's Hospital, London.
  13. ^ "Multiject infusion device, Bristol City Council : Museum Collections". Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  14. ^ "Portaject infusion device, Bristol City Council : Museum Collections". Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  15. ^ "Multiple injection infusion device (portable), UK Patent Application GB2222525A, 28 March 1988" (PDF). Google Patents. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  16. ^ Important Diabetes trials taking place in Bristol, National Medical Research News, issue no 9, 1984, The Fund's secretary Roslyn Taylor visited Bristol recently where the trustees have awarded a £4,500 grant ... in order that the Diabetic Clinic at the Hospital can carry out clinical trials on patients who are willing to try out a new device for taking insulin ... The visit was arranged to the Clinic in order to have the opportunity to meet the team who are working in connection with the grant, along with the inventor of the device Bob Channon, as well as some of the patients taking part in the trials.
  17. ^ Nigel Heath (3 May 1985). "Patient's Thanks". Bristol Evening Post. Bristol.
  18. ^ "Sterile needle protector, UK Patent Application GB2232601A, 15 June 1989" (PDF). Google Patents. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  19. ^ Steve Hynes (October 1994). "Eye in the Sky". Professional Photographer. pp. 53–56.
  20. ^ Heather Skull (14 May 2001). "Inventor lands 007 film role". Gazette and Herald. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  21. ^ Imogen Sellers (25 June 1999). "Invention could cut animal road deaths". Wiltshire Times.
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