Biomedical Engineering Overview

Biomedical Engineering

• Biomedical Engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes, such as diagnostic or therapeutic purposes.
• It is the interaction between two major professionality, engineering and medicine.
• Also known as Bioengineering, Biological Engineering, Clinical Engineering, or Medical Engineering, with Biomedical Engineering being the overall name.

Scope of Biomedical Engineering

• Concerned with human body-related applications of engineering system analysis, such as physiologic modeling, simulation, and control to biological problems.
• Involves detection, measurement, and monitoring of physiologic signals, including biosensors and biomedical instrumentation.
• Deals with therapeutic and rehabilitation procedures and devices, including rehabilitation engineering.
• Focuses on devices for replacement or augmentation of bodily functions, including artificial organs.
• Includes computer analysis of patient-related data and clinical decision making, including medical informatics and artificial intelligence.
• Encompasses medical imaging, graphical display of anatomic detail or physiologic function.
• Involves research in new materials for implanted artificial organs.
• Develops new diagnostic instruments for blood analysis.
• Writes software for analysis of medical research data.
• Analyzes medical device hazards for safety and efficacy.
• Develops new diagnostic imaging systems.
• Designs telemetry systems for patient monitoring.
• Designs biomedical sensors to improve patient monitoring systems for diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

Biomedical Engineers

• Use scientific knowledge to design, develop, construct, and maintain new devices and equipment for improving human health.
• Apply scientific knowledge from different fields like electrical, chemical, optical, mechanical, neurological, and physiological sciences to study, modify, simulate, and control biological systems.

Roles of Biomedical Engineers

• Can be divided into three branches: Clinical Engineering, Medical Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering.
• Clinical Engineering involves:
  • Selecting the proper technology to satisfy a specific requirement.
  • Installing and maintaining available devices.
  • Supervising and giving specialized training to doctors and users of medical technologies.
  • Monitoring the safety of patients and users and improving the design of these technologies with experience.