Transcript What is Biomedical Engineering?

What is Biomedical Engineering?
• Apply the idea of science (physics, chemistry and biology)
and math to the improvement of the human health.
• Biomedical engineers invent, design, and build new
technologies for diagnosis, treatment, and study of human
disease.
• Usually, they work as a part of a team of engineers,
scientists, and physicians
• It is the engineer who is responsible for converting new
knowledge into a useful form.
• A picture tells more than words
– Try to understand what biomedical engineering is all about
Chest x-rays are used to screen for lung disease such as tuberculosis
Heart–lung machine that permits heart transplantation
and surgery.
An electro- cardiogram measures the
electrical activity of the heart through
electrodes attached at defined
locations on the body surface.
Jet airplanes are used for rapid transport of
a preserved organ to a distant operating room.
NA microarrays can be used to measure the expression of genes in cells and tissues
• What is engineering?
– Engineering is the art of making practical
application of the knowledge of pure science.
Engineering is a creative discipline but the end
result is often intended to be durable, useful,
abundant, and safe.
– Engineering art is not produced for museums, but
intended to infiltrate the world.
• What do the engineers do?
• What is the difference between engineers and
the scientists?
Outcome of Medical enhancement
Major causes of death
How to improve the life expectancy?
- Cure of Cancer
- Cure of Carido-vascular diseases
What was the major causes of death
few centuries back, e.g., around 17th
century?
-
Infectious diseases
How biomedical engineers contribute
to proliferation of antibiotic, penicillin,
erythromycin, and vaccine?
Process of biomedical engineering
enhancement
Process for BME development
• German glassblower F. E. Muller. developed the contact lenses for the eyes
• These early lenses were difficult to make (and therefore expensive), and
they were not well tolerated by the eye
• Study of the response of the eye to the presence of these materials
revealed new aspects of eye physiology,
– the eye’s nonspherical geometry and the circulation pathway for tears.
– New materials were developed especially for lenses; plastics were particularly
valuable.
– Long wear contact lenses required an understanding of the cornea’s need for
oxygen.
•
Contact lenses are Manufactured from synthetic oxygen-permeable
materials using computer-aided techniques; the manufacturing process is
inexpensive and reliable enough to render the lenses disposable.
Example demonstrates
• This example also demonstrates the kinds of
science that a biomedical engineer must master:
– physics (e.g., light refraction and mechanics);
anatomy;
– physiology (e.g., tear production and circulation)
– materials science;
– immunology (e.g., the body’s response to foreign
materials);
– mathematics (e.g., evaluation of oxygen diffusion).
Sub-Discipline
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
System Biology and bioinformatics
Physiological modeling
Biomechanics
Biomedical instrumentation and sensors
Biomedical imaging
Biomolecular engineering and biotechnology
Artificial Organs
Reading Assignment: Chapter (Section 1.1-1.4,
Saltzman)