Michael Graham Saunders (11 June 1920 – 3 April 1975) was a Neurophysiologist,

Medical Doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the ...

, and

Medical Research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as experimental medicine, encompasses a wide array of research, extending from " basic research" (also called ''bench science'' or ''bench research''), – involving fundamental scienti ...

er who was fundamental in the development of the

Electroencephalography Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to record an electrogram of the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain. The biosignals detected by EEG have been shown to represent the postsynaptic potentials of pyramidal neurons in the neocor ...

, as well as a strong advocate for the advancement of computer use in medicine.

Early years

He was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England, to Eric Graham Saunders and Rose Kate Gasson, and received his early education at Launceston College,

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

. He then attended

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

, attaining a BSc in 1940 in anatomy and physiology ]; MB ChB 1944; MSc 1944 in physiology (medical electronics) and MD (by published papers) in 1964.

Career

Dr. and Mrs. Saunders left England and came to Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba in April 1949. He was appointed assistant professor of Physiology specializing in Neurophysiology at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Electroencephalography Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to record an electrogram of the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain. The biosignals detected by EEG have been shown to represent the postsynaptic potentials of pyramidal neurons in the neocor ...

Departments of the

Winnipeg General Hospital Winnipeg General Hospital is a hospital that was founded in 1872 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was built on the estate of Andrew McDermot. The driving force behind the hospital was McDermott's son-in-law Andrew Bannatyne. The hospital is part of the ...

and Children's Hospital and consultant EEG Services to the Department of Health, Province of Manitoba and to the

St. Boniface General Hospital (Winnipeg) Saint Boniface Hospital (french: Hôpital Saint-Boniface; also called St. B; previously called the Saint-Boniface General Hospital) is Manitoba's second-largest hospital, located in the Saint Boniface neighbourhood of Winnipeg. Founded by the S ...

. As his wife was a graduate

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, pat ...

, Dr. Saunders' early interests in this area led to an appointment as Director of the

Electromyography Electromyography (EMG) is a technique for evaluating and recording the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. EMG is performed using an instrument called an electromyograph to produce a record called an electromyogram. An electromyo ...

department of the Manitoba Rehabilitation Hospital (now the Rehabilitation Centre). In 1941 he was a founder member of the EEG Society (U.K.); a member of the Neurological Club, National Hospital, Queen's Square, London; and upon settling in Winnipeg he joined the comparable societies in Canada and the United States, being a founder member of the Canadian Society of EEG. He held executive positions in several organizations. He was an honorary member of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association; the Canadian Association of EEG Technicians; a member of the University of Manitoba Committee for Safety in Experimental Deprivation; a member of the council and an examiner for the American Board of Registration of EEG technologists; examiner for the Board of Qualification, American EEG Society; secretary and later president, Canadian Society of Electroencephalographers; president and member of Council of the Central EEG Society (U.S.); president (Manitoba Chapter) and delegate (National Society) of the Computer Society of Canada. He was also Procedural Counselor, delegate-at-large, and Chairman of the Rules Committee for the Vienna meeting of the International Federation of Societies for Encephalography and Clinical Physiology (IFECN). Saunders was also a founding member of the Canadian Board of Registration of Electroencephalograph Technologists, founded in 1972. He died on April 4, 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Michael Graham 1920 births 1975 deaths Alumni of the University of Manchester British emigrants to Canada Medical doctors from London Neurophysiologists Academic staff of the University of Manitoba