Associate Professor David Budgett

Biography

David Budgett has a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College in London. He graduated with BE in Electrical Engineering from the University of Canterbury. He has held lecturing positions in the Department of Engineering Science, the University of Auckland, and the School of Engineering, University of Sussex.

David is part of the management team of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, has major research grants in the field of implantable devices, and maintains a special interest in commercialisation of the Institute's intellectual property.
 

Research | Current

David Budgett has a keen interest in smart implantable devices. He coordinates collaborative teams drawn from academic and commercial institutions to take advantage of technology to create novel devices.

Implantable Devices Group
David leads the Implantable Devices Group with Dr Daniel McCormick at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute which has close ties with Associate Professor Patrick (Aiguo) Hu from the Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering. This group is responsible for developing novel biomedical sensors and transcutaneous energy transfer systems that can provide electrical power to implanted devices wirelessly.

A key technology showcase is the ability to power the next generation of artificial hearts. The present industry solution is to pass an electrical wire through the skin. This introduces a serious infection risk. Using inductive power, this risk can be eliminated.

In conjunction with Professor Malpas, a major research focus is the improved monitoring and treatment of hydrocephalus patients through improved pressure monitoring and active drainage.

More information is available at the Implantable Devices Group page.

Millar Inc.
David Budgett co-founded the company Telemetry Research which supplied implantable monitoring systems for research applications. Its systems have been shipped to 18 different countries, and the telemetry technology has been adopted by the majority of big pharmaceutical companies. In November 2011, Telemetry Research merged with Millar Instruments to become Millar Inc.
 

Postgraduate supervision

• Beverly (Fu Yu) Chen Miniature wireless sensors for monitoring intracranial pressure
• Robert Gallichan Active implants for managing hydrocephalous
• Ian Glass Lifetime monitoring pressure from an implanted sensor
• Perry Tan Long range power transfer to implanted devices
• Dixon Leung Lifetime implantable pressure sensors
• Emma Ordono Inverse problem of electrocardiography
• Cyril Au Powering the next generation of implantable heart pumps

Completed

• Thérèse Clark (2015) Powering implantable medical devices
• Ellyce Stehlin (2015) Wireless Power for Implantable Human Devices