Overview
This year's James Clayton lecture will be delivered by Dave Henson MBE, a retired Army Captain from Southampton, Hampshire.
The increase in use of the improvised explosive device as an offensive weapon against NATO coalition forces in recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq has led to a dramatic increase in the number of blast injuries sustained on the battlefield.
Coupled with improvements in protective equipment and battlefield casualty care strategies has meant that there are more ‘unexpected survivors’ presenting with very complex injury patterns and care requirements, and the long-term medical and financial requirements of their injuries are still being investigated. What is clear, however, is that this cohort of highly active amputees expect to live life without limitation - how can we make sure that these desires are met?
Dave joined the British Army in 2008, starting his military career with a year of intense infantry and leadership training at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Upon commissioning, Dave joined the Corps of Royal Engineers, taking his first command in July 2009. Dave re-roled and took over his second command 7 months later and deployed to Afghanistan as a Royal Engineer Search Advisor in 2010, responsible for the co-ordination, planning and conduction of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Search Operations.
After suffering life changing lower limb injuries in February 2011, Dave became involved behind the scenes of the Invictus Games – an international sports tournament championed by Prince Harry for injured servicemen and women from around the world. Dave initially fulfilled a role as part of a ‘sounding board’, providing advice from the point-of-view of an injured soldier. Following the public launch of the Invictus Games in March 2014, Dave was subsequently asked to be the Captain of the British Armed Forces Team.
Dave went back to University to complete a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College London, graduating with Merit in 2014
Dave designed a joint recreation implant for use with through-knee amputees that can help amputees regain some of the function lost with the loss of the knee joint. The project is currently being developed further at Imperial College London and will form part of a larger, long term limb regeneration project being undertaken at the institution.
Dave will detail his previous experience and lecture presentation on his research work into improving prosthetic limbs.