News

‘Its my circulation, doctor’ – Launch of the Festival of Science, Engineering and Medicine

(25 March 2003)

Dr David Harrison will kick start this year's Festival of Science at the University of Durham with a public lecture, "Its my circulation doctor": looking at medical problems with heat and light.

The lecture will give an overview, including some practical demonstrations about how heat and light can be used to help diagnose circulation problems without the need for any discomfort to the patient.

Dr Harrison, Head of the Durham Unit of the Regional Medical Physics Department at the University Hospital of North Durham, will show examples of how infra red cameras such as those used by the police searching for suspects at night can be used to investigate circulation problems in patients whether it is permanently cold hands or feet, or blockages of arteries in the leg.

Demonstrations will be given to show how it is possible to shine light into the skin in order to measure the amount of oxygen or the circulation and will also include the unique method used at University Hospital of North Durham to determine the best level of amputation in patients with very poor circulation in their legs. Examples will be shown as to how laser light can be used to produce images of the skin circulation enabling surgeons to assess the seriousness of burn injuries and treat them appropriately.

The lecture marks the launch of the University’s Science Festival which runs from 31 March until 3 April with a variety of exciting activities taking place involving local schools and the public.

Evening sessions are open to the general public throughout the festival and take place from 5.30 - 7.30pm. from 31 March to 2 April. The sessions include activities such as Sidewalk Safari: Wildlife under your feet, The Planetarium – Exploring the Night Sky, Create your own Earthquakes and the Aerodynamics of a Train. All the activities take place in the School of Biological Sciences on the University Science Site, South Road, Durham.

The public lecture will be held at 7.00pm on Tuesday 25 March in Durham County Hall. The lecture is open to all. For directions and further information see www.dur.ac.uk/science.fest

Further Information
Hilary Hull, Department of Chemistry Tel: 0191 334 2132
Helen Swain, Public Relations Office Tel: 0191 334 0017

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Notes to Editors
Dr David Harrison is a graduate of the University of Dundee (BSc Physics, 1973; PhD Medical Biophysics 1978) and the University of Erlangen/Nürnberg (Habilitierter Doktor der Medizin: Physiology, 1989). In 1991 he became a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine.

He was appointed Head of the Durham Unit of the Regional Medical Physics Department and Honorary Lecturer in Medical Physics at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1998.

He is author or co-author of over 100 publications, mainly in the field of blood flow and oxygen transport to tissue. In 1996 he was President of the International Society on Oxygen Transport to Tissue.