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- Glen Tibbits
Dr. Andy Hoffer
Professor of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology
Director, Neurokinesiology Laboratory
Bachiller Engineering IAVA Montevideo
BS Physics Harvey Mudd College
PhD Biophysics Johns Hopkins University
Phone: (778) 782-3141
Email: hoffer@sfu.ca
Biography
Dr. Andy Hoffer was born in Montevideo, Uruguay where he studied engineering. Upon receiving scholarships to study in the USA, he obtained a B.S. in physics in 1970 from Harvey Mudd College and a Ph.D. in biophysics in 1975 from Johns Hopkins University. He then came to Canada for postdoctoral training at the University of Alberta, Faculty of Medicine until 1978, when he joined the Laboratory of Neural Control, U.S. National Institutes of Health, as Staff Fellow. In 1982 he returned to Canada as assistant professor and Alberta Heritage Scholar at the University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine, where he became a full professor. In 1991 he moved to Simon Fraser University as professor and director of the School of Kinesiology (until 1997) and he is currently professor of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology in the Faculty of Science. Dr. Hoffer founded three biotechnology companies spun out from his SFU laboratory: Neurostream Technologies in 1998, Bionic Power in 2006 and Lungpacer Medical in 2009.
Research Summary
Beginning with the development of implantable nerve cuff recording electrodes during his doctoral thesis, Dr. Hoffer’s core research has addressed:
- How peripheral sensory and motor neurons function during voluntary movements, and
- development of assistive devices for functional rehabilitation of people affected by paralysis after brain or spinal cord injuries, limb amputations, and other neurological or neuromuscular disorders.
During the past 34 years, the SFU Neurokinesiology Laboratory and its 3 spun-out startup companies, research trainees and collaborators created uniquely specialized facilities, techniques and protocols for:
- neurophysiological, biomechanical and video recordings during unrestrained voluntary movements,
- invention, design, prototyping, testing, and pre-clinical validation of neuroprosthetic and neuroassistive solutions for people with neurological, neuromuscular or sensory impairments, including: the first fully implanted, battery powered, closed-loop assistive device for walking after hemiplegia; a way to harvest substantial electrical power with wearable devices during human movements; and a new therapy for critically ill patients that rebuilds their diaphragm muscle and liberates them from continued dependency on mechanical ventilation
- design and field-testing of alternative methods to chip and putt by golfers, especially when afflicted by tremors or other neuromuscular disorders
Research Themes
Nerve Cuff Electrodes for Research and Clinical Uses
Doctoral Thesis at Johns Hopkins University
For his PhD thesis supervised by W.B. Marks, Andy Hoffer designed and built nerve cuffs and low-noise amplifiers that recorded μVolt-level peripheral nerve activity during locomotion. Tripolar cuffs implanted in rabbit hindlimb nerves provided the first-ever recordings of sensory firing patterns in intact animals.
Nerve fiber activity during normal movements JA Hoffer, WB Marks, WZ Rymer. Soc Neurosci Abst 4:300, 1974. |
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Postdoctoral Research at U. Alberta
Richard B. Stein’s supervision at U. of Alberta, Andy Hoffer and colleagues implanted nerve cuffs to track the survival of motor and sensory nerve fibers after peripheral nerve lesions. They subsequently pioneered new methods to assist upper limb amputees to control powered prosthetic limbs.
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LA Davis, T Gordon, JA Hoffer, J Jhamandas, RB Stein. Journal of physiology 285 (1), 543-559, 1978. |
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Differential atrophy of sensory and motor fibers following section of cat peripheral nerves JA Hoffer, RB Stein, T Gordon. Brain research 178 (2-3), 347-361, 1979 |
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Long‐term effects of axotomy on neural activity during cat locomotion. T Gordon, JA Hoffer, J Jhamandas, RB Stein. The Journal of Physiology 303 (1), 243-263 |
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New approaches to controlling powered arm prostheses, particularly by high-level amputees. RB Stein, D Charles, JA Hoffer, J Arsenault, LA Davis, S Moorman, B Moss. Bull. Prosth. Res. 17: 51-62, 1980. |
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Andy Hoffer and fellow PDF Steen Andreassen collaborated in studies to quantify stretch reflex stiffness vs. intrinsic muscle stiffness, motivated by invaluable mentorship from T. Richard Nichols while he was also a PDF training in Stein’s lab
Regulation of soleus muscle stiffness in premammillary cats: intrinsic and reflex components. JA Hoffer, S Andreassen. Journal of neurophysiology 45 (2), 267-285, 1981. |
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Staff Fellowship at the Laboratory of Neural Control, NIH
In 1978, Andy Hoffer joined the NIH Lab of Neural Control in Bethesda, MD as Staff Fellow and collaborated with Gerald Loeb to equip a unique facility where they recorded in behaving animals the activity from single neurons with floating fine-wire ”hatpin” microelectrodes as well as implanted nerve cuffs, EMG electrodes, tendon force and muscle length transducers, described in a Science paper and seven J Neurophysiol papers (spindles 1, 2, 3 and motoneurons 1, 2, 3, 4).
Discharge patterns of hindlimb motoneurons during normal cat locomotion JA Hoffer, MJ O'Donovan, CA Pratt, GE Loeb. Science 213 (4506), 466-467. 1981. |
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Targeted Reinnervation of Nerve Stumps in Amputees
In an Ann Biomed Eng 1980 paper, Hoffer and Loeb analyzed the potential for long-term clinical uses of the five implanted technologies. Of these, neurograms recorded from intact nerves by cuff electrodes were the most likely to remain stable over many months and years.
In amputees, however, cut motor axons atrophy, and their signals become too small to record reliably. Hoffer and Loeb introduced the concept of “targeted reinnervation”: graft the nerve stumps onto donor muscles. This idea was later put into practice by Todd Kuiken and now provides amputees with enhanced motor signals to control prostheses.
Implantable electrical and mechanical interfaces with nerve and muscle JA Hoffer, GE Loeb. Annals of biomedical engineering 8 (4), 351-360, 1980. |
Professor and Alberta Heritage Fellow at U. Calgary
In 1982 Andy Hoffer took a faculty position at the University of Calgary where, with an Alberta Heritage Medical Research Establishment grant, he built a chronic recording lab and continued using and refining implantable sensing technologies jointly developed at NIH. With grants from MRC, NCE, Rick Hansen and U.S. Spinal Cord Research Foundation he attracted excellent trainees, including Angel Caputi with whom the Calgary team pioneered the capability to record muscle fiber length changes in intact animals using ultrasound transit-time; Thomas Sinkjær, with whom they compared muscle stiffness and reflex properties in intact and decerebrated animals, and Morten Haugland, whose thesis described properties of sensory afferent signals recorded from peripheral nerves in response to skin contact forces. Hoffer was also granted his first US patent while in Calgary, for a nerve-cuff based invention.
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JA Hoffer. US Patent 4,750,499, 1988. |
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JA Hoffer, AA Caputi, IE Pose, RI Griffiths. Progress in brain research 80, 75-85, 1989. |
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Factors determining segmental reflex action in normal and decerebrate cats T Sinkjær, JA Hoffer. Journal of neurophysiology 64 (5), 1625-1635, 1990. |
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Techniques to study spinal-cord, peripheral nerve, and muscle activity in freely moving animals JA Hoffer. Neurophysiological Techniques, 65-145, 1990. |
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Skin contact force information in sensory nerve signals recorded by implanted cuff electrodes MK Haugland, JA Hoffer, T Sinkjær. IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering 2 (1), 18-28, 1994. |
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MK Haugland, JA Hoffer. IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering 2 (1), 29-36, 1994. |
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MK Haugland, JA Hoffer. IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering 2 (1), 37-40., 1994. |
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Professor and Director of the Neurokinesiology Laboratory at Simon Fraser University
In 1991 Hoffer took a continuing faculty position at SFU, where he also served as the Director of the School of Kinesiology until 1997. He moved most of his Calgary lab equipment, several team members and MRC and NCE funds to SFU, and in 1992 was awarded a large research contract by the NIH/NINDS Neural Prosthesis Program to develop laser-based methods to fabricate advanced nerve cuff electrodes and to demonstrate their long-term stability, safety and efficacy in pre-clinical trials in animals. This research resulted in several publications and patents, including:
Implantable cuff having improved closure K Kallesoe, JA Hoffer, K Strange, I Valenzuela. US Patent 5,487,756, 1996. |
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Nerve cuff having one or more isolated chambers JA Hoffer, Y Chen, KD Strange, PR Christensen. US Patent 5,824,027, 1998. |
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KD Strange, JA Hoffer. IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering 7 (3), 289-300, 1999. |
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M Baru, JA Hoffer, E Calderon, GB Jenne, A Calderon. US Patent 7,636,602, 2009. |
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Neural signals for command control and feedback in functional neuromuscular stimulation: a review JA Hoffer, RB Stein, MK Haugland, T Sinkjaer, WK Durfee, AB Schwartz. J Rehabil Res Dev 33 (2), 145-157, 1996. |
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Nerve cuff, method and apparatus for manufacturing same JA Hoffer, MO Imbeau, JM Vallieres. US Patent 8,214,056, 2012. |
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1997-2004 NeurostepTM Fully Implanted Assistive System for Walking
Dr. Hoffer founded Neurostream Technologies in 1997 and served as its chief scientific officer until 2004. The SFU spin-off company moved to its own premises in Port Coquitlam, BC in 2001, raised 3 rounds of private investment and attracted experienced business, finance and clinical-regulatory management. As the CSO, Dr. Hoffer assembled and directed an expert electronic, mechanical, real-time control and biomedical engineering team. From 2001 to 2003 Neurostream developed the first fully implanted assistive device for walking in hemiplegics, NeurostepTM. The Neurostep system used two nerve cuffs to sense signals from the foot-sole and to activate the paralyzed ankle muscles and dorsiflex the foot. The cuffs were connected to a pacemaker-like control unit that included chip-based, low-noise nerve signal amplifiers. 16 Patents were granted for cuff, amplifier, and connector designs, as well as the full assistive system and separately, for a method to treat phantom limb pain in amputees. In 2003-2004, Neurostream conducted a pilot feasibility trial in a first hemiplegic stroke subject with foot drop who received an implanted Neurostep system that activated the paralyzed ankle muscles to enable faster and more secure walking. Neurostream was acquired by Victhom Human Bionics based in Quebec in July 2004. In 2007-2009, Victhom conducted multi-center clinical trials of the Neurostep system in Vancouver, Quebec and India and in February 2009 the Neurostep system was awarded the CE-Mark in Europe. Dr. Hoffer continued to assist Neurostream as a consultant and member of the Scientific Advisory Board. In June 2011, Otto Bock HealthCare (world’s largest vendor of prosthetic devices, based in Germany) acquired Neurostream Technologies and Victhom.
Implantable modular, multi channel connector system for nerve signal sensing and electrical stimulation applications. J.A. Hoffer and G. Jenne. U.S. Patent 7,303,422 issued December 4, 2007.
Fully implantable nerve signal sensing and stimulation device and method for treating foot drop and other neurological disorders. M. Barú, J.A. Hoffer, E. Calderon, G. Jenne and A. Calderon. U.S. Patent 7,636,602 issued December 22, 2009.
Implantable nerve signal sensing and stimulation device for treating foot drop and other neurological disorders. M. Barú, J.A. Hoffer, G. Jenne A. Calderon and E. Calderon. Canadian Patent 2,519,771 issued Nov 29, 2011.
Electrical stimulation system for treating phantom limb pain. Hoffer, Joaquín Andrés. European Patent 1,196,217 B1 granted Jun 14, 2006.
Electrical stimulation system and methods for treating phantom limb pain and for providing sensory feedback to an amputee from a prosthetic limb. J.A. Hoffer. U.S. Patent 7,302,296 issued Nov. 27, 2007.
Electrical stimulation system and methods for treating phantom limb pain and for providing sensory feedback to an amputee from a prosthetic limb. J.A. Hoffer. Canadian Patent 2,376,169 issued Jan 31, 2012.
2003-2005 Quantitative 3D Imaging of Human Peripheral Nerves
In collaboration with Dr. Faisal Beg and Eli Gibson and funded by a grant from the Rick Hansen Man in Motion Research Fund, Dr. Hoffer co-developed a new method to visualize the sciatic nerve and its branches in the human thigh based on MRI imaging, reported in an IFESS conference presentation.
Estimation of Nerve Dimensions from MRI of the Human Thigh.
J.A. Hoffer, E. Gibson, B. Mädler, M.F. Beg. Int’l. Functional Electrical Stimulation Soc., 13th Ann. Conf., Freiburg, Germany, Sept. 2008.
2004-2006 Effect of Hip Protectors in Prevention of Fracture During Falls
Dr. Hoffer collaborated with Joseph Choi and Dr. Steve Robinovitch on two studies:
Effect of hip protectors, falling angle and body mass index on pressure distribution over the hip during simulated falls.
Choi, W.J., J.A. Hoffer, S.N. Robinovitch. Clin. Biomech. 25(1):63-9, 2010.
The effect of positioning on the biomechanical performance of soft-shell hip protectors.
Choi, W.J., J.A. Hoffer, S.N. Robinovitch. J. Biomech. 43:818-825, 2010.
2005-2008 Biomechanical Energy Harvesting
Dr. Hoffer provided lab space and mentored Dr. Max Donelan when he joined SFU as a junior faculty member with a hot idea to harvest energy from human movement that deserved rapid exploration. They jointly applied and were awarded an NSERC Idea-to-Innovation prototype development grant and hired Qingguo Li, who had just completed his PhD, to develop the first devices. Their collaborative proof-of-concept work led to 5 US patents, a paper in Science (cited 964 times to date) and inclusion in Time Magazine’s top 50 inventions in 2008. They founded Bionic Power Inc., www.bionic-power.com, a Burnaby-based company that initially built wearable energy harvesters for military use and is now developing two products: Amplify™, a lightweight, non-medical exoskeleton combining power generation with endurance augmentation for fatigue reduction, and Agilik™, a lightweight, smart powered orthosis designed to reduce crouch gait in children with Cerebral Palsy by selectively assisting or resisting knee motion to provide rehabilitative benefit.
Biomechanical energy harvesting: generating electricity during walking with minimal user effort.
Donelan, J.M., Q. Li, V. Naing, J.A. Hoffer, D.J. Weber and A.D. Kuo. Science 319:807-810, 2008.
Methods and apparatus for harvesting biomechanical energy I. Donelan, J.M., Kuo, A.D., Hoffer, J.A., Li, Q., and Weber, D.J. U.S. Patent 7,652,386 issued January 26, 2010.
Methods and apparatus for harvesting biomechanical energy. Donelan, J.M., Kuo, A.D., Hoffer, J.A., Li, Q., and Weber, D.J. European patent 1,946,429 B1 granted June 21, 2017.Biomechanical energy harvesting: generating electricity during walking with minimal user effort.
2007-2016 Transvenous Phrenic Nerve Pacing to Assist Weaning of Mechanically Ventilated Patients
Motivated by witnessing his mother’s prolonged failure to wean from a mechanical ventilator in an intensive care unit, Dr. Hoffer conceived a novel assistive therapy based on Minimally Invasive, Transvascular Phrenic Nerve Stimulation. He filed the first U.S. Provisional patent in January 2007, obtained SFU-IO Prototype Development funding, filed a PCT patent and obtained NSERC Idea-to-Innovation Phase I and Phase IIb prototype development grants. In May 2009, Dr. Hoffer founded Lungpacer Medical Inc., www.lungpacer.com, SFU spin-off company and served as the CSO until 2016. During this period, Dr. Hoffer raised NSERC, NRC-IRAP and CIHR grant support and the first $1M in private investment from 31 friends, neighbours and several SFU faculty and staff members.
Upon entering the 2009 New Ventures BC Competition in May 2009, in September 2009 Lungpacer Medical was awarded 3rd Prize among 180 competing companies. In October 2009, Lungpacer won the BC Innovation Council 2009 Emerging Technology Award. In April 2010, Dr. Hoffer was awarded the LifeSciences British Columbia 2010 Innovation and Achievement Award in recognition for two technologies, Neurostep and Lungpacer. In June 2012, Lungpacer won the BCTIA 2012 Most Promising Pre-Commercial Technology Award, and in October 2012, Lungpacer won the Silver Award at the World‘s Best Technologies Innovation Marketplace in San Diego, California. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, Rocket Builders listed Lungpacer as one of ten Emerging Rocket life science companies, and in 2015, 2016 and 2017as one of ten Ready to Rocket life science companies. In January 2020, Lungpacer was the only Medical Device company included in the Narwhal list of the Top 10 young Canadian Health Technology companies, having by then raised over US$ 75 million in total funding (https://narwhalproject.org/narwhal-list/).
In June 2019, a randomized, controlled, open-labeled, multi-center clinical trial to evaluate the safe and effective performance of the Lungpacer Diaphragm Pacing Therapy System in patients who have failed to wean from mechanical ventilation was started in 39 hospitals in USA and Europe. Progress with this study slowed down when COVID-19 redirected the attention in ICUs worldwide; but in April 2020, the FDA approved Emergency Use of the Lungpacer RESCUE System to help wean COVID-19 patients from ventilators https://www.sfu.ca/sfunews/stories/2020/04/sfu-professor-s-invention-approved-by-fda-to-help-wean-covid-19-.html. In July 2020, the first reported patient who had survived COVID-19 but had been unable to breathe independently was successfully weaned using the Lungpacer Rescue system. https://healthcare-in-europe.com/en/news/covid-19-novel-diaphragm-therapy-shows-promise.html
In April 2021, a clinical trial was initiated in France that investigated the impact of the Lungpacer PROTECT Diaphragm Pacing Therapy on gas exchange, hemodynamics, regional lung ventilation and atelectasis in patients presenting with moderate ARDS. The PROTECT diaphragm pacing therapy is intended to preserve and improve inspiratory muscle strength in mechanically ventilated patients, based on pre-clinical studies that Dr. Hoffer's SFU team conducted in pigs and first-in-human clinical feasibility studies.
Serial ultrasonographic evaluation of diaphragm thickness during mechanical ventilation in ICU patients.
Francis, C., Hoffer, J.A., Reynolds, S.C. Am J Critical Care vol. 25, no. 1, e1-e8, 2016.
Mitigation of Ventilator-Induced Diaphragm Atrophy by Transvenous Phrenic Nerve Stimulation.
Reynolds SC, Meyyappan R, Thakkar V, Tran BD, Nolette MA, Sadarangani G, Sandoval RA, Bruulsema L, Hannigan B, Li JW, Rohrs E, Zurba J, Hoffer JA. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 195(3):339-348, 2017.
Diaphragm Activation in Ventilated Patients using a Novel Transvenous Phrenic Nerve Pacing Catheter.
Reynolds, Steven C.; Ebner, Adrian; Meffen, Tracy; Thakkar, Viral; Gani, Matt; Taylor, Kaity; Clark, Linda; Meyyappan, Ramasamy; Sadarangani, Gautam; Sandoval, Rodrigo; Rohrs, Elizabeth; Hoffer, Joaquín A. Critical Care Medicine, 45(7): e691-e694, 2017.
Dr. Hoffer is the sole inventor, lead inventor or a co-inventor of 104 patents that have been granted to Lungpacer to date, and of 17 other Lungpacer patent applications that are currently in review; representative granted patents are listed here.
Transvascular Nerve Stimulation Apparatus. Hoffer, Joaquín Andrés. European patent EP 2,107,920 issued July 10, 2013.
Transvascular Nerve Stimulation Apparatus and Methods. Hoffer, Joaquín Andrés. U. S. Patent 8,571,662 issued Oct 29, 2013.
Transvascular Nerve Stimulation Apparatus and Methods. Hoffer, Joaquín Andrés; Nolette, Marc-André; Thakkar, Viral; Tran, Bao Dung. European Patent EP2822645A1 published January 14, 2015.
Apparatus and Methods for Assisted Breathing by Transvascular Nerve Stimulation. Thakkar, Viral; Hoffer, Joaquín Andrés; Evans, Douglas G.; Nash, John; Tran, Bao Dung; Reynolds, Steven Campbell. Canadian Patent 2,930,809 A1 published May 28, 2015.
Systems and Related Methods for Optimization of Multi-Electrode Nerve Pacing. Hoffer, Joaquín Andrés; Sadarangani, Gautam; Nolette, Marc-André; Thakkar, Viral; and Tran, Bao Dung. U.S. Patent 9,333,363 issued May 10, 2016.
Apparatus and methods for assisted breathing by transvascular nerve stimulation. Viral Thakkar, Joaquin Andres Hoffer, Bao Dung Tran, Douglas G. Evans, John Nash. US patent 9,545,511 issued 17 Jan 2017.
Transvascular diaphragm pacing systems and methods of use. Meyyappan, Ramasamy; Hoffer, Joaquín Andrés; Barú, Marcelo; Coquinco, Bernard; Sandoval, Rodrigo; Tang, Jessica Kit-Sum. U.S. Patent 9,776,005 issued October 3, 2017.
Systems and methods for trans-esophageal sympathetic ganglion recruitment. Bassi, Thiago; Hoffer, Joaquín Andrés; Reynolds, Steven Campbell. U.S. Patent 10,940,308 issued March 9, 2021.
Systems and related methods for optimization of multi-electrode nerve pacing. Hoffer, Joaquín Andrés, Sadarangani, Gautam; Nolette, Marc-Andre; Thakkar, Viral; Tran, Bao Dung. U.S. Patent 12,172,020 B2 granted December 24, 2024.
Apparatus and methods for assisted breathing by transvascular nerve stimulation. Thakkar, Viral; Hoffer, Joaquín Andrés; Tran, Bao Dung; Evans, Douglas G.; Nash, John. U.S. Patent 12,239,838 B2 published March 4, 2025.
Transvascular nerve stimulation apparatus and methods. Hoffer, Joaquín Andrés. U.S. Patent 12,268,877-B2 published April 8, 2025.
Transvascular diaphragm pacing systems and methods of use. Ramasamy Meyyappan, Joaquin Andres Hoffer, Marcelo Baru, Bernard Coquinco, Rodrigo Andres Sandoval, Jessica Kit-Sum Tang. U.S. Patent 12,569,681 B2 granted March 10, 2026.
2017- Mitigation of Focal Dystonia and Tremors that Hinder Precise Movement Performance
When intention tremors or focal dystonia occur upon grasping an object, manual tasks can become difficult or impossible. Often associated with advancing age, cerebellar disease, multiple sclerosis or stroke, tremors and dystonia may be accentuated by stress. Dr. Hoffer and his Neurokinesiology Lab team completed several studies aimed at mitigating the effects of dystonia or other tremors during the execution of skilled movements.
Project 1: Thomas Prettejohn’s Biomedical Engineering undergraduate thesis was focused on designing a non-invasive wearable system to suppress the effect of wrist tremor, co-supervised with Andrew Rawicz, that was tested in a golfer affected by Parkinson’s disease.
Project 2: With participation by BPK senior undergraduate students Alesia DiCicco, Chelsea Ezzy, Jasmean Gill, Valentin Hutter, Estee Leung, Robyn Macpherson, Katrina Moorthy, Aaron Siebenga, Marija Simic, Aryan Sotoodeh, Jasmine Virk, and UBC student Sierra Wessel, Dr. Hoffer tested a novel putter gripping method based on promising results in pilot subjects affected by intention tremor or focal dystonia. SFU statistics professor Tim Swartz provided helpful advice on data analysis. Estee Leung completed an Honours Thesis based on video analysis of putting motions in golfers with focal dystonia. Based on their studies from 104 participants that included experienced golfers with or without tremor issues and non-golfers, students presented 6 posters and Dr. Hoffer presented a podium paper at the 2024 World Scientific Congress of Golf.
Arm-Lock Grip Improves Putting Performance by Golfers with Tremors or Yips. E. Leung, A. Siebenga, A. Sotoodeh, A. DiCicco, C. Ezzy, J. Gill, V. Hutter, B. Lin, R. MacPherson, K. Moorthy, M. Simic, J. Virk, S. Wessel, J.A. Hoffer. WSCG 2024 – 11th World Scientific Congress of Golf, Loughborough University, UK, 10-12 July 2024.
The findings from this study were subsequently featured by Golf Digest in an article by Luke Kerr-Dineen and a podcast:
What a new study reveals about a method that beats the putting yips https://www.golfdigest.com/story/golf-putting-yips-study-arm-lock-left-handed-method
Should you try armlock putting? This study says yes.
A study by Dr. Andy Hoffer shows armlock putting is a great method to try if you're a golfer who has the yips, especially one with an overactive trail hand. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/should-you-try-armlock-putting-this-study-says-yes/id1636377015?i=1000704925116
Project 3: With a team that included BPK recent graduates Aaron Siebenga, Aryan Sotoodeh, Todd Nelson, PhD student Pawel Kudzia and senior undergraduate students Estee Leung, Chelsea Hoyle, Jeremiah Zacharias and Samantha Radbourne, Dr. Hoffer tested novel chipping methods following up on their findings in the putting studies. The team quantified kinematics from video images using markerless motion capture algorithms (OpenPose and DeepLabCut) that train a deep neural network to track the positions of body landmarks, the golf club and the ball, aiming to document the reasons for performance differences using different chipping strategies. The team assessed 40 golfers and presented 3 posters, one based on Todd Nelson’s Honours Thesis project, for which he received the 2022 Best BPK Undergraduate Poster Award. Chelsea Hoyle completed an Honours Thesis based on motion analysis of chipping by golfers with focal dystonia. Dr. Hoffer presented a second podium paper at the 2024 World Scientific Congress of Golf:
RT. Nelson, C. Hoyle, M. Quon, S. Skinner, P. Kudzia, J.A. Hoffer. Chipping Performance using a Wedge, Hybrid, and Hybrid with Arm-Lock Grip. WSCG 2024 – 11th World Scientific Congress of Golf, Loughborough University, UK, 10-12 July 2024.
The findings from the chipping study were also featured by Golf Digest in another article by Luke Kerr-Dineen and another podcast:
You should do this if you're bad at chipping—it helps 86% of golfers
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/chipping-study-hybrid-fairway-wood-amateur-golfer-tip-golf-digest
Trouble with your short game? Try this.
Chunks. Blades. Chili dips. Outright sh*nks. Chipping can be difficult. But a study by Dr. Andy Hoffer found that 35 of 40 golfers got the ball closer to the hole using this chipping method. Chances are it will help you too. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trouble-with-your-short-game-try-this/id1636377015?i=1000705834732