What is Biomedical
Engineering
Dr. Abdalhameed Alkhateeb
September 2003
Dr. Abdalhameed Alkhateeb
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• Biomedical Engineers apply engineering techniques and
analyses to problem-solving in medicine and the
biomedical sciences
• Biomedical Engineers bridge the gap between clinical
medicine and applied medical technology.
• Biomedical Engineers must be capable of defining a
medical problem in engineering science terms and of
finding a solution that satisfies both engineering and
medical requirements
• This includes developing systems to:
– maintain and enhance life,
– designing replacement parts for people,
– creating systems to allow the handicapped to function, work and
communicate
– Etc.
Dr. Abdalhameed Alkhateeb
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• Biomedical engineering is interdisciplinary, that
is, biomedical engineers work with other medical
health care professionals as members of a team.
• Exciting advances in medicine, such as the
artificial heart, pacemakers, medical imaging
techniques, lasers, prosthetic implants, life
support systems, and devices that help the
paralyzed walk, are the result of a team effort by
biomedical engineers and other professionals.
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• Biomedical Engineers have expertise in:
– engineering science,
– biological science
– medical science.
• Biomedical engineering is usually based on one
of the traditional engineering disciplines, such as
electrical or mechanical engineering.
• New fields of biomedical engineering include
areas such as:
–
–
–
–
medical electronics,
clinical engineering,
biomaterials,
rehabilitation engineering.
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• Applications of biomedical engineering is
almost endless and is developing every
day, it includes
– cardiac monitors to clinical computing,
– artificial hearts to contact lenses,
– wheel chairs to artificial tendons,
– modeling dialysis therapy to modeling the
cardiovascular system.
• Biomedical engineers are also integral in
the management of technology in
hospitals and health care delivery.
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Main Fields of Biomedical
Engineering
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Medical Instrumentation:
• Medical instrumentation is the application
of electronics and measurement
techniques to develop devices used in
diagnosis and treatment of disease.
• Computers are an important and
increasingly essential part of medical
instrumentation, from the microprocessor
in a single-purpose instrument to the
microcomputer needed to process the
large amount of information in a medical
imaging system.
• Examples of medical instrumentation
include: heart monitors, microelectrodes,
defibrillators and glucose monitoring
machines
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Biomaterials
• Biomaterials is the use of materials, both living
tissue and artificial materials, for implantation.
Understanding the properties of the living
materials is vital in the design of implant
materials. The selection of an appropriate
material to place in the human body may be one
of the most difficult tasks faced by the
biomedical engineer. Certain metal alloys,
ceramics, polymers and composites have been
used as implant materials.
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Biomaterials (cont)
• Biomaterials must be
– nontoxic,
– non-carcinogenic,
– chemically inert (not reacting violently with the body's
chemical composition),
– Stable
– mechanically strong enough to withstand the
repeated forces of a lifetime of use.
• Newer biomaterials even incorporate living cells
in order to provide a true biological and
mechanical match for the living tissue.
Dr. Abdalhameed Alkhateeb
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Biomaterials (cont)
• Examples of biomaterials include
– Dental adhesives,
– Bone cement,
– Replacement bones/joints,
– Heart prosthetics,
– Heart replacement valves
– Artificial lungs
– Artificial kidneys.
Dr. Abdalhameed Alkhateeb
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System Physiology and Modeling
• The use of scientific and
engineering principles to predict
the behavior of a system of
interests.
• Systems of interest may include
the human body, particular
organs or organ systems and
medical devices.
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System Physiology and Modeling
(cont)
• Modeling is used in the analysis of
experimental data and in formulating
mathematical descriptions of physiological
events.
• In research, modeling is used as a
predictive tool in designing new
experiments to refine our knowledge.
• Examples are the biochemistry of
metabolism and the control of limb
movements
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Signal processing
• Collection and analysis of data from patients or
experiments in an effort to understand and identify
individual components of the data set or signal.
• The manipulation and dissection of the data or signal
provides the physician and experimenter with vital
information on the condition of the patient or the status of
the experiment.
• Biomedical Engineers apply signal-processing methods
to the design of medical devices that monitor and
diagnose certain conditions in the human body.
• Examples include heart arrhythmia detection software
and brain activity
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Medical Imaging
• Medical Imaging combines knowledge of a
unique physical phenomenon (sound,
radiation, magnetism etc.) with high-speed
electronic data processing, analysis and
display to generate an image.
• Often, these images can be obtained with
minimal or completely non-invasive
procedures, making them less painful and
more readily repeatable than invasive
techniques.
• Examples include Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (MRI), ultrasound and computed
tomography (CT).
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Biomechanics
• Biomechanics applies both fluid mechanics and
transport phenomena to biological and medical
issues. It includes the study of motion, material
deformation, flow within the body, as well as
devices, and transport phenomena in the body,
such as transport of chemical constituents
across biological and synthetic media and
membranes.
• Efforts in biomechanics have developed the
artificial heart, replacement heart valves and the
hip replacement.
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Biomechanics
(cont)
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Rehabilitation Engineering
• Rehabilitation engineering uses concepts
in biomechanics and other areas to
develop devices to enhance the
capabilities and improve the quality of life
for individuals with physical and cogitative
impairments.
• They are involved in:
– Prosthetics,
– Development of the home and/or workplace,
– TransportationDr.modifications.
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Career Opportunities
• Biomedical engineers are exposed to
many fields of study in engineering,
medicine and biology. Due to this broad
experience biomedical engineers find
employment in:
– hospitals,
– government bodies,
– industry or
– academic areas.
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What do Biomedical Engineers do?
• Design of medical instrumentation
• Design prostheses;
• Contribute in the development,
manufacture and testing of medical
products
• Manage of technology in the hospital
system.
• Sales Engineers
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Is Biomedical Engineering
Right for You?
• Just because you don't know about
biomedical engineering does not mean it is
not right for you. Determine if your current
interests match those of biomedical
engineers that are happy with their choice.
Dr. Abdalhameed Alkhateeb
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Is Biomedical Eng. For you? (cont)
• Engineering involves the use of
mathematics and physics, therefore an
interest and/or talent in these areas is a
strong clue that engineering would be a
good choice.
• Additionally, if you are interested or
talented in chemistry, biology, medicine
and physiology, biomedical engineering
will match your interests.
Dr. Abdalhameed Alkhateeb
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Is Biomedical Eng. For you? (cont)
Another fulfilling part of biomedical
engineering is the human side. Are
you looking for a profession where
you can serve society and work with
people?
In biomedical engineering you will
use your technical background to
design products to improve medical
care and to provide society with a
greater understanding of human
health needs.
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Is Biomedical Eng. For you? (cont)
• Other careers in industry for biomedical
engineers include positions involving
service and technical selling of medical
equipment and products to hospitals.
• Many biomedical engineers also start their
own businesses developing new services
or consulting with industry or research
centers.
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Is Biomedical Eng. For you? (cont)
• Other biomedical engineers work for the
government developing and ensuring proper
regulation of medical equipment to guarantee the
well-being of the public.
• Many biomedical engineers also pursue advanced
degrees in biomedical engineering enabling them to
obtain positions in advanced research laboratories,
universities and other positions requiring advanced
knowledge in an area.
• Biomedical engineering also can be a springboard
to careers in law (such as patent law), dentistry and
medicine.
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References
• The university of New South Wales
(http://www.gsbme.unsw.edu.au/whatisit.htm)
• Milwaukee School of Engineering
(http://www.msoe.edu/eecs/be/whatisbe.shtml)
• Monash University Centre for Biomedical Engineering
(http://www.ecse.monash.edu.au/centres/mucbe/AboutBi
oEng/bioeng1.html)
Dr. Abdalhameed Alkhateeb
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