搜索
DesigningaCareerinBiomedicalEngineeringRobot-assistedsurgery.PhotocourtesyTheAcrobotCompany,Ltd.()®EngineeringinMedicine&BiologyCopyright©2003IEEE.AllRightsReserved.CopyrightandReprintPermissions:Reprintingofthisinfor-mationispermittedwithcredittothesource.LibrariesarepermittedtophotocopybeyondthelimitofU.S.copyrightlawforprivateuseofpatronsthosearticlesinthisvolumethatcarryacodeatthebottomofthefirstpage,providedtheper-copyfeeindicatedinthecodeispaidthroughCopyrightClearanceCenter,222RosewoodDrive,Danvers,MA01923.Forotherreprintorrepublicationspermission,writetoIEEEIntellectualPropertyRightsManager,IEEEOperationsCenter,445HoesLane,Piscataway,NewJerseyUSA08854.Isbiomedicalengineeringrightforyou?Whatkindofcareerdoyouimagineforyourself?Doctor?Lawyer?Scientist?Engineer?Teacher?CEO?Manager?Salesperson?Auniversitydegreeinbiomedicalengineeringwillprepareyouforalloftheseprofessionsandmore.Biomedicalengineersusetheirexpert-iseinbiology,medicine,physics,mathematics,engineeringscienceandcommunicationtomaketheworldahealthierplace.Thechallengescre-atedbythediversityandcomplexityoflivingsystemsrequirecreative,knowledgeable,andimaginativepeopleworkinginteamsofphysicians,scientists,engineers,andevenbusinessfolktomonitor,restoreandenhancenormalbodyfunction.Thebiomedicalengineerisideallytrainedtoworkattheintersectionofscience,medicineandmathematicstosolvebiologicalandmedicalproblems.Whatdobiomedicalengineersdo?Perhapsasimplerquestiontoansweriswhatdon’tbiomedicalengineersdo?Biomedicalengi-neersworkinindustry,academicinstitutions,hospitalsandgovern-mentagencies.Biomedicalengi-neersmayspendtheirdaysdesign-ingelectricalcircuitsandcomputersoftwareformedicalinstrumenta-tion.Theseinstrumentsmayrangefromlargeimagingsystemssuchasconventionalx-ray,computerizedtomography(asortofcomputer-enhancedthree-dimensionalx-ray)andmagneticresonanceimaging,tosmallimplantabledevices,suchaspacemakers,cochlearimplantsanddruginfusionpumps.Biomedicalengineersmayusechemistry,Bioengineershelptranslatehumanorganssuchastheheartintothousandsofmathematicalequationsandmillionsofdatapointswhichthenrunascomputersimulations.Theresultisavisualsimulationthatlooksandbehavesmuchliketherealheartitmimics.Imagecour-tesyPeterHunter,BioengineeringInstitute,Auckland,NewZealand.physics,mathematicalmodelsandcomputersimulationtodevelopnewdrugtherapy.Indeedaconsiderablenumberoftheadvancesinunderstand-inghowthebodyfunctionsandhowbiologicalsystemsworkhavebeenmadebybio-medicalengineers.Theymayusemathematicalmodelsandstatisticstostudymanyofthesignalsgeneratedbyorganssuchasthebrain,heartandskeletalmuscle.Somebio-medicalengineersbuildartifi-cialorgans,limbs,knees,hips,heartvalvesanddentalimplantstoreplacelostfunc-tion;othersaregrowinglivingtissuestoreplacefailingorgans.Thedevelopmentofartificialbodypartsrequiresthatbiomedicalengineersusechemistryandphysicstodevelopdurablematerialsthatarecompati-blewithabiologicalenvironment.Biomedicalengineersarealsoworkingtodevelopwirelesstechnolo-gythatwillallowpatientsanddoctorstocommunicateoverlongdis-tances.Manybiomedicalengineersareinvolvedinrehabilitation–design-ingbetterwalkers,exerciseequipment,robotsandtherapeuticdevicestoimprovehumanperformance.Theyarealsosolvingproblemsatthecel-lularandmolecularlevel,developingnanotechnologyandmicro-machinestorepairdamageinsidethecellandaltergenefunction.Biomedicalengineersarealsoworkingtodevelopthree-dimensionalsim-ulationsthatapplyphysicallawstothemovementsoftissuesandfluids.Theresultingmodelscanbeinvaluableinunderstandinghowtissueworks,andhowaprostheticreplacement,forexample,mightworkunderthesameconditions.Somebiomedicalengineerssolvebiomedicalproblemsasphysicians,businessmanagers,patentattorneys,physicaltherapists,professors,researchscientists,teachersandtechnicalwriters.WhilethesecareersWearablecomputerscanplayaroleinmakinghealthcaredeliverypossibleforanyone,anyplace,anytime.PhotocourtesyFaustinaHwang.oftenrequireadditionaltrainingbeyondthebachelor’sdegreeinbiomed-icalengineering,theyareallappropriatecareersforthepersontrainedinbiomedicalengineering.Sometimeselectrical,mechanical,computer,orothertypesofengineersmayfindthemselvesworkingonbioengineering-relatedproblems.Afterafewyears,theymayhavesomuchbiomedical-relatedexpertisethattheycanbeconsideredbiomedicalengineers.Howdobiomedicalengineersdifferfromotherengineers?Biomedicalengineersmustintegratebiologyandmedicinewithengi-neeringtosolveproblemsrelatedtolivingsystems.Thus,biomedicalengineersarerequiredtohaveasolidfoundationinamoretraditionalengineeringdiscipline,suchaselectrical,mechanicalorchemicalengi-neering.Mostundergraduatebiomedicalengineeringprogramsrequirestudentstotakeacorecurriculumoftraditionalengineeringcourses.However,biomedicalengineersareexpectedtointegratetheirengineer-ingskillswiththeirunderstandingofthecomplexityofbiologicalsys-temsinordertoimprovemedicalpractice.Thus,biomedicalengineersmustbetrainedinthelifesciencesaswell.Coursesinbiology,chemistry,andphysicswillhelpprepareyoutobecomeabiomed-icalengineer.Photocou