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Mr SIMON VOGRIN, Academic Specialist, Medicine – St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne
Epilepsy, Neuroimaging, EEG
Simon is not just passionate about his chosen field of clinical neuroscience; he remains connected with his Slovenian roots. His Slovenian parents migrated to Melbourne in the early 1970’s, and he was encouraged and nurtured to follow his study interests. Simon enjoys the warmth of the Slovenian culture and traditional Slovenian Folk tunes and was struck by the challenge to learn the diatonic accordion as a teenager. He has always had a close affinity with Slovenia, so with his parents now retiring amidst the beautiful alpine national parks there and being married to Sara who also ventured out from Slovenia to make Melbourne their home, the opportunities to return are always eagerly welcomed.
About his profession Simon told us:
“I’ve always felt extremely fortunate to have been given so many opportunities to follow my instinct and focus on what I thought was valuable”. His inquisitive nature has lured him into the world of neurology and clinical neurosciences over the past two decades. “The challenge remains that there are so many conditions that are not well understood and have devasting impacts on patients. But the uncertainty associated with epilepsy sufferers and uncontrolled seizures is a struggle that drives me to explore what can be done to help”.
“In my role as a Clinical Neuroscientist, I try to bridge the gap between what we know about a patient’s condition, and what secrets can be uncovered using sophisticated technologies and techniques. As research unveils the complex interactions of the brain, mind and body – the boundaries of where we can map between important functions and abnormalities in the individual is where I focus my efforts. It’s about bringing these technologies together to build a unique and more complete picture of each patient and what makes them tick, but above all to ‘do no harm’.”
Simon’s activities involve not only exploring cutting-edge techniques using structural and functional imaging of the brain but bringing them to the clinic in a timely fashion.
Simon trusted with the following:
“The real beauty of clinical research for me remains in the honest and open interactions I have with patients and their families. As we explore their condition together to determine whether safe surgical therapies are possible, I am humbled by their selfless generosity to offer their own time as we try many different approaches, despite knowing that while it may not directly help them but may help others experiencing similar hardships. We couldn’t achieve this without a team of like-minded individuals all committed to a common outcome. I work with Physicians and Surgeons, Scientists and Engineers across hospitals, universities and with commercial partners to bring these opportunities together. It takes a great mix of talented and like-minded individuals to realise these goals, and I am appreciative of the opportunity to work with them on such complex but rewarding problems.”
His mark of success:
“My primary marker of success has remained patient outcomes. We cannot always guarantee complete success, but we can always learn how to reduce the risks and do things ever more safely.”
Simon also works as a Research Officer at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute where he is a part of the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Program and is involved in many different projects through The University of Melbourne. He holds honorary appointments with Bionics Institute and Swinburne University of Technology and has experience in working with national and international collaborators on various projects, as well as mentoring postgraduate students.
Simon is not just an excellent doctor and specialist, he enjoys as well the Slovenian culture. His Slovenian parents encouraged and supported him in his study. Simon likes to play a piano accordion, Slovenian Folk tunes, and has participated and performed on many occassions at the Slovenian Festivals.
But his life is medicine.
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Publications
Impact Points
Ewan S Nurse, Dean R Freestone, Thomas J Oxley, David C Ackland, Simon J Vogrin, Michael Murphy, Terence J O ‘brien, Mark J Cook, David B Grayden
Jared Cooney Horvath, Simon J Vogrin, Olivia Carter, Mark J Cook, Jason D Forte
Abstract for presentation at 21st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Epilepsy Society of Australia
The Effect of Different EEG Source Localisation Algorithms on Spike Dipole Position in TLE
- Ms Ema Pitts, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne Department of Medicine, Australia
- Mr Denis Cassidy, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne Department of Medicine, Australia
- Ms Annie Roten, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia
- Dr Stefanie Meckes-Ferber, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia
- Mr Simon Vogrin, Compumedics Australia, Australia
- Dr Peter Cadusch, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
- Assoc Prof Terence O’Brien, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne Department of Medicine, Australia
Multi-modality 3-D image registration (MMIR) has advanced the localisation of the epileptogenic zone in the pre-surgical evaluation of patients with medically refractory partial epilepsy. EEG is temporally unmatched by any other modality. Although EEG is essential for tracking seizure evolution, it has been largely excluded from MMIR because of the difficulty in localizing the specific position of interictal discharges in 3D space. Numerous approaches have been described to localize the sources of EEG discharges, however many do not account for individual anatomical variation. In this study we examined different head models for dipole source localisation, including the boundary element method (BEM), and individual patient MRI.
Dipole source localisation was performed on recorded EEG spikes using five different head models: non-individual 1 & 3 spherical shells, non-individual BEM (Montreal Neurologic Institute), individual 3 spherical shells & individual BEM (patient’s MRI). The location & orientation of the dipoles determined by each method was compared by blinded qualitative assessment as well as mathematical comparison.
The results demonstrated significant differences in the position of the dipoles depending on which head model was used. The largest displacement was 32mm between the 1 shell model & the individual BEM. The individual BEM provided the most accurate representation of the clinical generator, with 86% of cases localising to the correct lobe. The least displacement of 12.1mm was measured between the individual & non-individual three spherical shell models.
The head model used has major effects on the localization & orientation of the generated dipole. This needs to be considered for these methods to be incorporated into clinical practice. The individual BEM head model using the patients own MRI provides the most robust dipole source localisation for interictal EEG.
Simon as Co-researcher:
http://brainfoundation.org.au/research-grants/2014/neurodegenerative-diseases-4
http://www.rch1000.org.au/pdf/RCH_newsletter_SEP2013_RGB_2.pdf
http://www.rch1000.org.au/pdf/RCH_newsletter_Dec_2011.pdf
http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Simon_Vogrin
http://www.artandepilepsy.com/international-epilepsy-congress—rome-2011.html
http://www.icms.com.au/epilepsy2006/abstract/71.htm
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1528-1167.2012.03599.x/full
http://www.austria.embassy.gov.au/files/vien/AustralianEmbassyNewsletter_JAN%202011.pdf
http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/brain/136/4/1177.full.pdf
http://www.yasni.com/simon+vogrin/check+people/research
http://www.sinapsa.org/slo/arhiv.php?y=2004
http://www.uszs.gov.si/en/press_centre/news/browse/10/article/764/1816/85fb43b29e728269bf1432246576b6f9/
more to come
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