WHAT IS BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING,SPECIALITY AREAS AND CAREER OPPURTUNITIES

Bio Medical Engineering:

Bio Medical Engineering combines Engineering expertise with medical needs for the enhancement of health care. It is a branch of Engineering in which knowledge and skills are developed and applied to design and solve problems in biology and medicine. Students choose Bio Medical Engineering to be service to people; for the excitement of working with living systems; and to apply advanced technology to the complex problems of medical care. The Bio Medical Engineer is a health care professional, a group that includes Physicians, Nurses and Technicians. Bio Medical Engineer may be called upon to design instruments and devices, to bring together knowledge from many sources to develop new procedures or carry out research to acquire knowledge needed to solve new problems.

Specific Activities :

Example of work done by Bio Medical Engineer include:

•       Designing and constructing cardiac pace makers, defibrillators, artificial kidneys, and blood oxygenates, hearts, blood vessels, joints, arms and legs.
•       Designing computer systems to monitor patients during surgery or in intensive care, or to monitor healthy persons in UN usual environments, such as Astronauts in Space or under water divers at great depth.
•       Designing and building sensors to measure blood chemistry, such as potassium, sodium, O2, CO2 and pH.
•       Designing instruments and devices for therapeutic uses, such as laser system for eye surgery or a device for automated delivery of insulin.
•       Devoicing strategies for clinical decision making based on expert system and artificial intelligence, such as computer based systems for selecting seat cushions for paralyze patients or for, managing the care of patients with severe burns or for diagnostic diseases.
•       Designing clinical laboratories and other units within the hospital and health care delivery system that utilize advances technologies. Examples would be a computerized analyzer for blood samples, ambulance for use in rural areas or a cardiac catheterization laboratory.
•       Designing, building and investigating the medical imaging systems based on X – rays (Computer Assisted Tomography), Isotopes (Position Emission Tomography), Magnetic Fields (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), Ultrasound or newer modalities.
•       Constructing and implementing mathematical / computer models of physiological systems.
•       Designing and constructing bio – materials and determining the mechanical, transport, and biocompatibility properties of implant able artificial materials.
•       Implementing new diagnostic procedures, especially those requiring engineering analysis to determine parameters that are not directly accessible to measurements, such as in the lungs or heart.
•       Investigating the Bio – Mechanics of injury and wound healing.

Specialty Areas :

Some of the well-established area within the field of Bio Medical Engineering is:

1. Bio – Instrumentation.

2. Bio – Mechanics.

3. Bio – Materials.

4. System Physiology.

5. Clinical Engineering.

6. Rehabilitation Engineering.

7. Genetic Engineering.

8. Bio Medical Electronics.

9. Robotics.


Bio Medical Engineers are employed in industry, in hospital, in research facilities of educational and medical institutions, in teaching and in government regulatory agencies. They often serve a co coordinating or interfacing functions, using their back ground in both the engineering and medical fields. In industry, they may create designs where an in depth understanding of living systems and of technology essential. They may be involved in performance testing of new or proposed products. Government positions often involve product testing and safety, as well as establishing safety standards for devices. In the hospital, the Bio Medical Engineer may provide advice on the selection and use of medical equipment, as well as supervising its performance testing and maintenance. They may also build customized devices for special health care or research needs. In research institutions, Bio Medical Engineer supervised laboratories and equipments, and participates in or directs research activities in collaboration with other researchers with such backgrounds as medicine, physiology and nursing.

Some Bio Medical Engineers are technical advisor for marketing department of companies. Some Bio Medical Engineers also have advanced training in other fields. E.g. Many Bio Medical Engineer may also have M.D. Degree, thereby combining and understanding of advances technology with direct patient care and clinical research.

Career Preparation :

The Bio Medical Engineer should plan first and foremost to be a good engineer. Beyond this, he or she should have a working understanding of life sciences systems and terminology. Good communication skills are also important, because the Bio Medical Engineer provide a link among professionals with medical, technical and other backgrounds.

Career Opportunities :

1. Hospitals:

Diagnosis, Patient Care monitoring systems, orthopedics and artificial limb designing, EEG, EMG, ECG. X – Rays, Ultrasound Laboratories.

2. Pharmaceutical Companies:

Research, Development and production of drugs, techniques and devices.

3. Surgical Equipment Manufacturer.

4. Bio Medical / Bio Technology / Laboratory equipments suppliers.

5. Universities.

Teaching, Research etc.

6. Research in various areas:

Instrumentation, diagnostic and theraputic devices, artificial organs, medical information system.