Summary
Dr Martyn Biddiscombe PhD, MSc, BSc is a senior Medical Physicist and experienced medical researcher. He trained at Aberdeen University and worked for his PhD at University College Hospital and UCL. His PhD investigated therapeutic drug delivery to the lungs using gamma scintigraphy to measure delivery efficiencies of important inhaler devices commonly used by patients with asthma. He came to important conclusions regarding the poor delivery efficiencies of the devices of the late 1980s that was helpful in the development of new delivery system that followed.
He has over 30 years of clinical research expertise in aerosol science and therapeutic inhalation including the use of gamma scintigraphy and the sensitive physiological technologies: IOS and MBNW. He has established himself as an important contributor in the field of aerosol science and pulmonary drug delivery. Some of his recent research has fundamentally altered our understanding of therapeutic aerosol deposition and clinical effectiveness in inhaled pulmonary drug delivery and he has published several key articles.
He has presented at important international respiratory and drug delivery meetings. As senior Medical Physicist he has partnered clinical pulmonologist in more than 20 clinical research studies. He is currently focusing on how particle size affects therapeutic drug delivery to the lungs in different disease states including asthma, COPD and pulmonary fibrosis. Recent research includes a collaborative study with the University of Bristol investigating the potential link between coronal ions discharged from high voltage overhead powerlines and childhood leukaemia and more recently an investigation into inhaled drug delivery in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.
He has recently joined the EU funded MyAirCoach project to help patients manage their health through user-friendly tools that will increase their awareness of their clinical state as well as the adherence and effectiveness of medical treatment they follow. He has been an important member of the Standardization of Lung Imaging Methodology Committee which is part of the ISAM (International Society of Aerosols in Medicine) Working Group of Regulatory Affairs.
Publications
Journals
Biddiscombe MF, Usmani OS, 2021, Delivery and adherence with inhaled therapy in asthma, Minerva Medica, Vol:112, ISSN:0026-4806, Pages:564-572
Verbanck S, Biddiscombe MF, Usmani OS, 2020, Inhaled aerosol dose distribution between proximal bronchi and lung periphery, European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, Vol:152, ISSN:0939-6411, Pages:18-22
Maher TM, Biddiscombe M, Fahy WA, et al., 2018, The Topical Study Of Inhaled Drug (salbutamol) Delivery In Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, Respiratory Research, Vol:19, ISSN:1465-9921
Verbanck S, Ghorbaniasl G, Biddiscombe MF, et al., 2016, Inhaled aerosol distribution in human airways: a scintigraphy-guided study in a 3D printed model, Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery, Vol:29, ISSN:1941-2711, Pages:525-533