Appointment of Dr Guy Wood-Gush to the Board of Directors, and hires of Senior Data Scientist and Technical Operations and Project Manager
Edinburgh, UK – 21 December 2021: Manus Neurodynamica Limited (“Manus”), which develops and markets products and technologies for neuromotor assessment, announces the appointment of Dr Guy Wood-Gush as a Non-Executive Director of the Company, effective immediately, and two key hires: Angus Sturrock as Technical Operations and Project Manager, and Dr Chris Papasavvas as a Senior Data Scientist. Investing in key hires to both the Board and senior management positions is crucial to supporting the commercial roll-out of the Company’s NeuroMotor PenTM, ensuring there is a breadth of knowledge, corporate collaboration experience and sales expertise.
Dr Wood-Gush has a clinical background in ophthalmology and neurosurgery, and has over 20 years of commercial Board experience. He was previously a Founder and CEO of Deontics Ltd, an AI clinical decision support technology company spun out from the University of Oxford, University Col-lege London and Cancer Research UK, and was Chairman of Cambridge Cognition Ltd (now Cam-bridge Cognition Holdings PLC (AIM: COG)), a computerised cognitive testing software company. From 2001-2002, he was the CEO of Cancer Research Ventures Ltd, a spinout from the Cancer Research Campaign (CRC), (now Cancer Research UK), which commercialised IP derived from research funded by the CRC.
Prior to this, Dr Wood-Gush worked in healthcare investment banking, working as a stock analyst at Barclays de Zoete Wedd and as a Director of M&A at JP Morgan. He received his MBBS from King’s College London.
Angus Sturrock joins Manus as Technical Operations and Project Manager. He brings 35 years of postgraduate experience in software development, test management, software quality, operations, people leadership and project management. During his career, he has brought multiple systems and devices to market, including multiple blood glucose meters that have improved the lives of people with diabetes. Angus spent the first half of his career working in the defence and space industries but then transitioned into a career in medical devices, primarily within diabetes care and palliative care.
Dr Chris Papasavvas has joined Manus as a Senior Data Scientist. He received his PhD from New-castle University in 2017 focusing on neuroscientific research, and he gained post-doctoral research experience at Newcastle, Sussex and Yale. His research interests span topics from neuroscience to computational neurology, with his work being published in highly reputed scientific journals. His role involves the collection and analysis of data from the NeuroMotor PenTM, in order to maximise the potential of the device in clinical practice.
Dr Guy Wood-Gush, Non-Executive Director of Manus, commented: “As a former clinician, the NeuroMotor Pen excites me as a product that could potentially change the lives of patients with neuromotor impairments. I’m looking forward to working with the Manus Board and the wider team as we look to build on the significant achievements of the Company to date.”
Dr Rutger Zietsma, CEO of Manus, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Guy, Angus and Chris to Manus. They are joining the Company at a pivotal stage, as we look to continue the com-mercial roll-out of our NeuroMotor Pen and conduct further research into its additional clinical uses.
“Guy’s significant experience at Board level and investment banking within the healthcare space, as well as his knowledge from his medical career, will be invaluable to us in progressing the Company’s vision.
“Angus and Chris also bring strong skillsets to our already talented team; Angus’ proven track record
in bringing medical devices to market, and Chris’ neuroscience expertise will be critical to Manus
and the NeuroMotor Pen going forward.”
Manus Neurodynamica Ltd Dr Rutger Zietsma, Chief Executive Officer | +44 131 563 5465 r.c.zietsma@manusneuro.com |
Walbrook PR (PR advisors to Manus) Lianne Applegarth / Phil Marriage | +44 20 7933 8780 +44 7584 391 303 / +44 78 67 984 0 82 manusneuro@walbrookpr.com |
Notes to Editors
About Manus Neurodynamica – www.manusneuro.com
Dr Rutger Zietsma founded Manus in August 2008. The Company’s main activity is designing, patenting and marketing innovative technologies used in medical devices and personal care products which have the capability to improve people’s health and wellbeing. The Company implements quality procedures to medical standards.
Its principal product is a sensory pen designed for use in the diagnosis and monitoring of neuromotor impairments. The pen particularly focuses on patients with Parkinson’s disease and uses limb and hand motion to diagnose patients quickly and non-invasively. It has applications across not just diagnosis but also screening, monitoring, rehabilitation and drug development for a number of different movement disorders.
About NeuroMotor PenTM
NeuroMotor Pen™ (NMP) is a unique, patented and CE-marked system that combines sensor technologies built into a digital pen with software and an analytical engine with Decision Support System.
The interface enables users to record non-invasively and analyse parameters of minute limb and hand motion. This enables quantification of fine motor skill. These parameters are used as ‘digital biomarkers’ to provide objective information about movement abnormalities. NMP can be used to support diagnosis and monitoring of Parkinson’s Disease and other neuromotor impairments. It has the potential to be a quick, inexpensive, non-invasive, and objective aid to diagnosis that can provide a low-cost alternative to brain scans.