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Saeed Zahedi

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Sir Mir Saeed Zahedi, OBE, FREng, RDI, FIMechE (born 23 May 1957) is a British-Iranian biomedical engineer and innovator who is the Technical Director at Chas A Blatchford & Sons. He was named Royal Designer for Industry in 2014, and in 2016 he appeared on Debrett's 500 List, which recognises Britain's 500 most influential individuals.[1] He was knighted "for services to Engineering and Innovation" in 2017.[2][3]

Early life and education

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Zahedi was born on 23 May 1957 in Tehran, Iran.[4] He moved to the UK as a teenager to attend school in Sloane Square. He studied mechanical engineering at the Polytechnic of Central London, graduating with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree.[4] He undertook postgraduate studies in biomedical engineering at the University of Strathclyde.[4][5][6][7] His doctoral thesis was titled "The study of alignment of lower limb prostheses" and was completed in 2007.[8]

Career

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Having previously worked as a research assistant at the University of Strathclyde, Zahedi was employed as a medical physicist in charge of a prosthetic clinic in the National Health Service (NHS) during his early career. In 1988, Zahedi began working at Chas A Blatchford & Sons as a project manager. He became Head of Technology at PDD (Pankhurst Design and Development Group Ltd) in 1999.[9]

In 2003, Zahedi returned to Chas A Blatchford & Sons in the research and development unit and was later appointed Technical Director in 2006.[10] He is a visiting professor at Bournemouth University's Design Simulation Research Centre[11][12] and previously, the University of Surrey.[5][13]

Zahedi led the team at Blatchford that developed the Linx, the first microprocessor-controlled lower limb prosthetic where the foot and knee continuously ‘talk’ to each other. With its combination of new materials, microprocessor controls and understanding of how people walk, Linx won the 2016 MacRobert Award.[14] This system uses a network of sensors across the knee and foot to collect data on the user's activity which is subsequently used to adapt to the specific movements of the user and their respective environment.[15] In August 2016, he answered questions in an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on Reddit's IAmA subreddit.[16]

Honours and awards

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Zahedi is the author of over 125 publications related to prosthesis research and has patented over 35 inventions.[5][17] In 2011 he was nominated for the Prince Philip Designers Prize for which he received a Special Commendation.[18] In 2013 he received the Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) award for engineering design.[19]

He and his team were finalists in the 2010 MacRobert Award for work on the Echelon hydraulic ankle-foot, the world's first self-aligning prosthesis.[20] Along with four colleagues, Zahedi won the 2016 MacRobert Award for their development of Linx.[21][22]

Zahedi is a member of ISO, CEN and IEC Working Groups.[23] He has won 5 BLESMA awards, IMechE Special Needs, and ISPO Forchheimer in 1989, for his PhD work conducted at Strathclyde University.[5]

In the 2000 New Year Honours, Zahedi was awarded an OBE for "services to the Prosthetics Industry".[24] In 2017, during the ISPO World Congress in Cape Town, Zahedi delivered one of the three keynote speeches to the 2,000 participants.[25]

Zahedi received a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2017 "for services to Engineering and Innovation".[2]

In 2019 Zahedi was made an Honorary Fellow of the IMechE to recognise his outstanding contribution to innovation and engineering in the field of rehabilitation.[26]

Zahedi served as Chair of the ISPO Scientific Committee from 2020 to 2022 and currently sits on the committee as the Past-Chair, remaining actively involved in the ISPO UK Committee as well as the wider activities of ISPO International.[27][28]

Personal life

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Zahedi married Shirin Zahedi (née Sadeghian) in 1988. The couple has two children. He resides in London.[29]

References

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  1. ^ "Debrett's 500 List: Engineering & Technology". The Daily Telegraph. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b "BIRTHDAY HONOURS 2017 – HIGH AWARDS" (PDF). Government of the United Kingdom. p. 15. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  3. ^ "Prime Ministers list Queens birthday honours 2017" (PDF). Government of the United Kingdom. p. 3. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Zahedi, Sir Saeed". Who's Who 2018. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2017. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U282268. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d "ISPO Bio" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Articles - Bodies of work". www.ingenia.org.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Executive Committee". ISPO UK MS. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  8. ^ Zahedi, Saeed (2007). "The study of alignment of lower limb prostheses". E-Thesisi Online Service. The British Library Board. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Eureka - new ideas in technology". www.eurekamagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Management Team". Blatchford Group. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Engineering team aims for research 'Oscar' | BU Research". research.bournemouth.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  12. ^ "Saeed Zahedi – Bournemouth University Staff Profile Pages". staffprofiles.bournemouth.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  13. ^ "Bionic man". 16 November 2006. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  14. ^ "Ingenia - Bodies of work". 4 December 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  15. ^ "Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award 2016 Finalist Blatchford".
  16. ^ "I am the engineer who developed the world's most intelligent prosthetic limb • r/IAmA". reddit. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  17. ^ "Mir Saeed Zahedi Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications – Justia Patents Search". patents.justia.com. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  18. ^ "Royal accolade for Basingstoke prosthetics maker". Hampshire Chronicle. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  19. ^ RSA. "Current Royal Designers – RSA". thersa.org. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  20. ^ "Flying high – satellite broadband pioneer Inmarsat wins the UK's top engineering prize".
  21. ^ "World's most intelligent prosthetic limb? An interview with Professor Saeed Zahedi". News-Medical.net. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  22. ^ "World's most intelligent prosthetic limb wins MacRobert Award". eurekamagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  23. ^ "Executive Committee". ISPO UK MS. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  24. ^ "" No. 55710". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1999. pp. 17".
  25. ^ "News & Press". www.ispoint.org. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  26. ^ "Institution welcomes Professor Sir Saeed Zahedi as Honorary Fellow". www.imeche.org. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  27. ^ "Scientific Committee - ISPO". www.ispoint.org/. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  28. ^ "ISPO UK MS Executive Committee". ISPO UK MS. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  29. ^ "Professor Sir Saeed Zahedi Knighted by the Prince of Wales - Endolite USA - Lower Limb Prosthetics". Endolite USA - Lower Limb Prosthetics. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
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