Dr Edward RC Draper

Dr Edward Draper, Orthopaedic Research Fellow

History

Dr Draper gained his first degree in Engineering Sciences in 1979 from the University of Edinburgh and worked within the Bioengineering Centre at the Princess Margaret Rose  Orthopaedic Hospital for 10 years. During this time he started his second degree through the Bioengineering Unit at the University of Strathclyde, which he did part-time, and graduated in 1994. The subject of his thesis was 'Biomechanical Factors affecting Fracture Healing'. Dr Draper has gained his chartered status through the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and is a member of Fédération Européenne d'Associations Nationales d'Ingénieurs.

He joined the Royal Postgraduate Medical  School, RPMS, in the Department of Surgery after a short period in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Edinburgh.

He joined Imperial College London in 1997 when several Medical Schools merged into Imperial College. He has been an active member of the Division of Surgery, Oncology, Reproductive Biology and Anaesthetics since that time. He enjoys teaching both on the Undergraduate Medical course and within the Engineering Departments. He has regular teaching commitments on the MSc courses. He has extensive experience in the design and development of medical devices and is the sole inventor on several patents in this field.

Dr Draper is also the Divisional Finance Officer.

In January 2001, Dr Draper’s research was extended to include helping run the laboratories jointly run with the Royal Veterinary College at their Hawkshead Campus. This is within the team lead by Professor Allen Goodship, who is also the Director of the Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Sciences within University College, London. Consequently Dr Draper has close links with that team as well.

Research Interests

Dr Draper’s interests are in the interplay between biology and mechanics. These can be categorised into three areas: factors affecting musculoskeletal tissue strength, tendon and bone biomechanics and osteoarthritis.

Musculoskeletal Tissue Strength

Following a project funded by the Horserace Betting Levy Board held by Professor Goodship, Dr Draper has shown that there is a strong correlationship between the strength of the tendon and bone tissue. In other words individuals with strong bony tissue will also tend to have strong tendon tissue. It is currently hypothesised that this is due to variations in the quality of type 1 collagen in which both tissues are rich. Future research will be examining the variations in collagen crosslinks with strength and genetic polymorphisms that have been shown to be associated with changes in bone strength. Initially the genetic work will concentrate on the SNP on the SP1 binding site of the COL1A1 gene.

Bone and tendon biomechanics

There are some dynamic factors that affect the quality of musculoskeletal tissues, for instance, Dr Draper was part of the team that should there is a significant difference in mechanical properties of flexor tendon (which tend to be involved in propulsion during gait) and extensor tendons (which are more used in positioning). He is working with the Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Sciences to recreate the mechanical environment within the laboratory to investigate if tendon explants can be stimulated from one type to the other.

He is also actively involved in the mechanical isolation of the patella tendon to examine if this tendon will respond in vivo to externally applied loading regimes.

Osteoarthritis

Dr Draper has been active in setting up some work between the RVC with the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology (KIR) looking at the mechanics of osteoarthritis. He is working with an Italian-based Company on harnessing these findings in the clinic

Quality Assurance system

The Royal Veterinary College and the Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Sciences have recently extended the number of laboratories that work under the quality assurance system Good Laboratory Practice (GLP). Dr Draper has set up systems to ensure that the computerised systems are compliant

Dr Draper is currently establishing new procedures and software that will allow the use of electronic signatures that should be acceptable to the Food and Drugs Administration of the USA.

Academic Alliances

Dr Draper has also been part of two groups that are coming together: one involved in tendon research and the other looking at osteoarthritis, which includes researchers from Kennedy Institute for Rheumatology.

Publications

Draper ERC, Wallace AL, Strachan RK, Hughes SP, Nicol AC, Paul JP. The design and performance of an experimental external fixation device with load transducers. Med.Eng Phys. 1995; 17:618-624

Draper ERC, Strachan RK, Hughes SP, Nicol AC, Paul JP. The design and performance of an experimental external fixator with variable axial stiffness and a compressive force transducer. Med Eng Phys. 1997; 19:690-695

Draper ERC. A treadmill-based system for measuring symmetry of gait. Med Eng Phys. 2000; 22:215-222

Draper ERC, Cable JM, Sanchez-Ballester J, Hunt N, Robinson JR, Strachan RK. Improvement in function after valgus bracing of the knee. An analysis of gait symmetry. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2000; 82:1001-1005

Gourlay T, Ballaux PK, Draper ERC, Taylor KM. Early experience with a new technique and technology designed for the study of pulsatile cardiopulmonary bypass in the rat. Perfusion 2002; 17:191-198

Hullin MG, McMaster MJ, Draper ERC, Duff ES. The effect of Luque segmental sublaminar instrumentation on the rib hump in idiopathic scoliosis. Spine 1991; 16:402-408

Lee SW, Draper ER, Hughes SPF. Instantaneous center of rotation and instability of the cervical spine. A clinical study. Spine 1997; 22:641-647

Patents

Draper ERC.  Medical Apparatus - Healing Status Fixator. British Technology Group. [GB 94 03158.0]. 1995. UK.

Draper ERC.  Assessing the state of union in a bone fracture. British Technology Group. [5,873,843]. 1999. USA.

Draper ERC.  Bone fixated, articulated joint load control device. Imperial College London. [WO 02/078554]. 2001.

Darzi AW, Edwards LD, Mackay S, Draper ERC.  Data Recorder. ORBB Ltd. [WO 02/17640 A1]. 2003. International

Patent Applications

Draper ERC.  A Toy with the External Form of a Regular Polyhedron. Draper, E. R. C. 8202509. 1979. UK.

Draper ERC.  Lighting system for controlled illumination of a region of interest. Imperial College Innovations. 0302015.3. 2003. UK.

Draper ERC, Goodship AE.  Musculoskeletal Assay. Royal Veterinary College. 2003. UK.

Main Interests keywords

Mechanobiology, bone, tendon, cartilage, type 1 collagen, collagen crosslinks, musculoskeletal tissue biomechanics, osteoarthritis, gene polymorphisms, quantitative trait loci, Raman spectroscopy, patenting, intellectual property rights