Biomedical engineering ( BME ) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare applications (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic purposes). BME is also traditionally logical sciences to advance health care treatment, including diagnosis , monitoring , and therapy . Also included under the scope of a biomedical engineer is the management of current medical equipment in hospitals while adhering to relevant industry standards. This involves procurement, routine testing, preventive maintenance, and making equipment recommendations, a role also known as a Biomedical Equipment Technician (BMET) or as a clinical engineer .
58-515: [REDACTED] Look up iron hand in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Iron Hand may refer to: Iron hand (prosthesis) , a kind of prosthetic limb popular in Europe in the 15th-19th centuries Goetz von Berlichingen Iron Hand (c. 1480–1562), German Imperial Knight and mercenary "Iron Hand" (song) , 1991 Dire Straits song Iron Hand Society ,
116-473: A 1947 novel by Phoebe Atwood Taylor A 1970s comic strip drawn by Irish artist Paddy Brennan The original name of the 1960s U.S. Air Force mission Wild Weasel An alternative name for the Claw of Archimedes See also [ edit ] Iron Hands (disambiguation) Iron Fist (disambiguation) The Iron Hand of Mars , a 1992 historical mystery crime novel by Lindsey Davis Topics referred to by
174-559: A Ph.D. is notably more common than in others, it is hardly ever the majority (except in academia). In fact, the perceived need for some kind of graduate credential is so strong that some undergraduate BME programs will actively discourage students from majoring in BME without an expressed intention to also obtain a master's degree or apply to medical school afterwards. Graduate programs in BME, like in other scientific fields, are highly varied, and particular programs may emphasize certain aspects within
232-485: A Rehab' Engineer in the UK is possible via a University BSc Honours Degree course such as Health Design & Technology Institute, Coventry University. The rehabilitation process for people with disabilities often entails the design of assistive devices such as Walking aids intended to promote the inclusion of their users into the mainstream of society, commerce, and recreation. Regulatory issues have been constantly increased in
290-465: A Syrian nationalist group organized in 1921 Iron Palm or Iron Hand, a body of training techniques in various Chinese martial arts Operation Iron Hand , a US military operation conducted during the Vietnam War "Iron Hand", a song by Battle Beast from their album Steel "Iron Hand", a song by Grand Magus from their album The Hunt The Iron Hand , the U.K. edition of The Iron Clew ,
348-424: A broad array of subfields (see below). Prominent biomedical engineering applications include the development of biocompatible prostheses , various diagnostic and therapeutic medical devices ranging from clinical equipment to micro-implants, imaging technologies such as MRI and EKG / ECG , regenerative tissue growth, and the development of pharmaceutical drugs including biopharmaceuticals . Bioinformatics
406-1046: A complementary technique to X-ray to monitor lower extremity trauma. The sensor monitor the dielectric properties and can thus notice change in tissue (bone, muscle, fat etc.) under the skin so when measuring at different times during the healing process the response from the sensor will change as the trauma heals. Clinical engineering is the branch of biomedical engineering dealing with the actual implementation of medical equipment and technologies in hospitals or other clinical settings. Major roles of clinical engineers include training and supervising biomedical equipment technicians (BMETs) , selecting technological products/services and logistically managing their implementation, working with governmental regulators on inspections/audits, and serving as technological consultants for other hospital staff (e.g. physicians, administrators, I.T., etc.). Clinical engineers also advise and collaborate with medical device producers regarding prospective design improvements based on clinical experiences, as well as monitor
464-564: A cross-disciplinary hybrid specialization of other disciplines; and BME programs at all levels are becoming more widespread, including the Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering which includes enough biological science content that many students use it as a " pre-med " major in preparation for medical school . The number of biomedical engineers is expected to rise as both a cause and effect of improvements in medical technology. In
522-808: A discussion of the procedures used to design safe systems. The clinical engineering department is constructed with a manager, supervisor, engineer, and technician. One engineer per eighty beds in the hospital is the ratio. Clinical engineers are also authorized to audit pharmaceutical and associated stores to monitor FDA recalls of invasive items. Rehabilitation engineering is the systematic application of engineering sciences to design, develop, adapt, test, evaluate, apply, and distribute technological solutions to problems confronted by individuals with disabilities. Functional areas addressed through rehabilitation engineering may include mobility, communications, hearing, vision, and cognition, and activities associated with employment, independent living, education, and integration into
580-453: A doctoral (Ph.D., or MD-PhD ) degree in BME (Biomedical Engineering) or another branch of engineering with considerable potential for BME overlap. As interest in BME increases, many engineering colleges now have a Biomedical Engineering Department or Program, with offerings ranging from the undergraduate (B.Sc., B.S., B.Eng. or B.S.E.) to doctoral levels. Biomedical engineering has only recently been emerging as its own discipline rather than
638-484: A focus area in research, such as with hepatic assist devices that use liver cells within an artificial bioreactor construct. Genetic engineering, recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification/manipulation (GM) and gene splicing are terms that apply to the direct manipulation of an organism's genes. Unlike traditional breeding, an indirect method of genetic manipulation, genetic engineering utilizes modern tools such as molecular cloning and transformation to directly alter
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#1732858049614696-448: A less formal way, bioinformatics also tries to understand the organizational principles within nucleic acid and protein sequences. Biomechanics is the study of the structure and function of the mechanical aspects of biological systems, at any level from whole organisms to organs , cells and cell organelles , using the methods of mechanics . A biomaterial is any matter, surface, or construct that interacts with living systems. As
754-474: A part of pharmacy due to its focus on the use of technology on chemical agents in providing better medicinal treatment. This is an extremely broad category —essentially covering all health care products that do not achieve their intended results through predominantly chemical (e.g., pharmaceuticals) or biological (e.g., vaccines) means, and do not involve metabolism. A medical device is intended for use in: Some examples include pacemakers , infusion pumps ,
812-423: A reference to specific analysis "pipelines" that are repeatedly used, particularly in the field of genomics. Common uses of bioinformatics include the identification of candidate genes and nucleotides (SNPs). Often, such identification is made with the aim of better understanding the genetic basis of disease, unique adaptations, desirable properties (esp. in agricultural species), or differences between populations. In
870-438: A science, biomaterials is about fifty years old. The study of biomaterials is called biomaterials science or biomaterials engineering . It has experienced steady and strong growth over its history, with many companies investing large amounts of money into the development of new products. Biomaterials science encompasses elements of medicine, biology, chemistry, tissue engineering and materials science. Biomedical optics combines
928-473: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Biomedical engineering Biomedical engineering has recently emerged as its own field of study, as compared to many other engineering fields. Such an evolution is common as a new field transitions from being an interdisciplinary specialization among already-established fields to being considered a field in itself. Much of the work in biomedical engineering consists of research and development , spanning
986-501: Is a kind of medical device made to replace and act as a missing biological structure (as compared with a transplant, which indicates transplanted biomedical tissue). The surface of implants that contact the body might be made of a biomedical material such as titanium, silicone or apatite depending on what is the most functional. In some cases, implants contain electronics, e.g. artificial pacemakers and cochlear implants. Some implants are bioactive, such as subcutaneous drug delivery devices in
1044-599: Is a major segment of biotechnology – which overlaps significantly with BME. One of the goals of tissue engineering is to create artificial organs (via biological material) for patients that need organ transplants. Biomedical engineers are currently researching methods of creating such organs. Researchers have grown solid jawbones and tracheas from human stem cells towards this end. Several artificial urinary bladders have been grown in laboratories and transplanted successfully into human patients. Bioartificial organs, which use both synthetic and biological component, are also
1102-431: Is an interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools for understanding biological data. As an interdisciplinary field of science, bioinformatics combines computer science, statistics, mathematics, and engineering to analyze and interpret biological data. Bioinformatics is considered both an umbrella term for the body of biological studies that use computer programming as part of their methodology, as well as
1160-500: Is believed to be safe and effective when used as intended, and, therefore, it can be marketed within the European Union area. The different regulatory arrangements sometimes result in particular technologies being developed first for either the U.S. or in Europe depending on the more favorable form of regulation. While nations often strive for substantive harmony to facilitate cross-national distribution, philosophical differences about
1218-475: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Iron hand (prosthesis) Iron hands are metal prostheses for hands and upper extremities from the Middle Ages and early modern period. These designs combined cosmetic and functional properties. The most famous example of an iron hand was made around the year 1530, being the second prosthetic hand made for
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#17328580496141276-692: Is the principal healthcare regulatory authority in the United States, having jurisdiction over medical devices, drugs, biologics, and combination products. The paramount objectives driving policy decisions by the FDA are safety and effectiveness of healthcare products that have to be assured through a quality system in place as specified under 21 CFR 829 regulation . In addition, because biomedical engineers often develop devices and technologies for "consumer" use, such as physical therapy devices (which are also "medical" devices), these may also be governed in some respects by
1334-530: The retina in the eye or the coronary arteries in the heart. Fluorescence microscopy involves labeling specific molecules with fluorescent dyes and visualizing them using light, providing insights into biological processes and disease mechanisms. More recently, adaptive optics is helping imaging by correcting aberrations in biological tissue, enabling higher resolution imaging and improved accuracy in procedures such as laser surgery and retinal imaging. Tissue engineering, like genetic engineering (see below),
1392-543: The Consumer Product Safety Commission . The greatest hurdles tend to be 510K "clearance" (typically for Class 2 devices) or pre-market "approval" (typically for drugs and class 3 devices). In the European context, safety effectiveness and quality is ensured through the "Conformity Assessment" which is defined as "the method by which a manufacturer demonstrates that its device complies with the requirements of
1450-436: The heart-lung machine , dialysis machines, artificial organs , implants , artificial limbs , corrective lenses , cochlear implants , ocular prosthetics , facial prosthetics , somato prosthetics, and dental implants . Stereolithography is a practical example of medical modeling being used to create physical objects. Beyond modeling organs and the human body, emerging engineering techniques are also currently used in
1508-575: The optimal extent of regulation can be a hindrance; more restrictive regulations seem appealing on an intuitive level, but critics decry the tradeoff cost in terms of slowing access to life-saving developments. Directive 2011/65/EU, better known as RoHS 2 is a recast of legislation originally introduced in 2002. The original EU legislation "Restrictions of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronics Devices" (RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC)
1566-505: The EU will take the more severe approach of requiring all applicable devices being placed on the market to consider the home healthcare standard. AS/ANS 3551:2012 is the Australian and New Zealand standards for the management of medical devices. The standard specifies the procedures required to maintain a wide range of medical assets in a clinical setting (e.g. Hospital). The standards are based on
1624-629: The European Medical Device Directive ". The directive specifies different procedures according to the class of the device ranging from the simple Declaration of Conformity (Annex VII) for Class I devices to EC verification (Annex IV), Production quality assurance (Annex V), Product quality assurance (Annex VI) and Full quality assurance (Annex II). The Medical Device Directive specifies detailed procedures for Certification. In general terms, these procedures include tests and verifications that are to be contained in specific deliveries such as
1682-541: The European Member States. The Notified Bodies must ensure the effectiveness of the certification process for all medical devices apart from the class I devices where a declaration of conformity produced by the manufacturer is sufficient for marketing. Once a product has passed all the steps required by the Medical Device Directive, the device is entitled to bear a CE marking , indicating that the device
1740-493: The German knight Götz von Berlichingen . Most iron hands are based on the same constructive principles, although there are considerable differences in complexity. Fingers can be flexed passively (for example using the healthy hand) and are locked in place by a ratchet mechanism, similar to those of contemporary flintlocks . Extension of the fingers works by spring pressure. This article about biomedical engineering
1798-478: The IEC 606101 standards. The standard covers a wide range of medical equipment management elements including, procurement, acceptance testing, maintenance (electrical safety and preventive maintenance testing) and decommissioning. Biomedical engineers require considerable knowledge of both engineering and biology, and typically have a Bachelor's (B.Sc., B.S., B.Eng. or B.S.E.) or Master's (M.S., M.Sc., M.S.E., or M.Eng.) or
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1856-516: The U.S., an increasing number of undergraduate programs are also becoming recognized by ABET as accredited bioengineering/biomedical engineering programs. As of 2023, 155 programs are currently accredited by ABET. In Canada and Australia, accredited graduate programs in biomedical engineering are common. For example, McMaster University offers an M.A.Sc, an MD/PhD, and a PhD in Biomedical engineering. The first Canadian undergraduate BME program
1914-402: The brain or feeding tube placement systems. For example, ENvizion Medical's ENvue, an electromagnetic navigation system for enteral feeding tube placement. The system uses an external field generator and several EM passive sensors enabling scaling of the display to the patient's body contour, and a real-time view of the feeding tube tip location and direction, which helps the medical staff ensure
1972-529: The community. While some rehabilitation engineers have master's degrees in rehabilitation engineering, usually a subspecialty of Biomedical engineering, most rehabilitation engineers have an undergraduate or graduate degrees in biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, or electrical engineering. A Portuguese university provides an undergraduate degree and a master's degree in Rehabilitation Engineering and Accessibility. Qualification to become
2030-497: The correct placement in the GI tract . Imaging technologies are often essential to medical diagnosis, and are typically the most complex equipment found in a hospital including: fluoroscopy , magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine , positron emission tomography (PET), PET-CT scans , projection radiography such as X-rays and CT scans , tomography , ultrasound , optical microscopy , and electron microscopy . An implant
2088-446: The country-specific legislation, the main regulatory objectives coincide worldwide. For example, in the medical device regulations, a product must be: 1) safe and 2) effective and 3) for all the manufactured devices (why is this part deleted?) A product is safe if patients, users, and third parties do not run unacceptable risks of physical hazards (death, injuries, ...) in its intended use. Protective measures have to be introduced on
2146-562: The design and verification of a wide range of home use and point of care medical devices along with other applicable standards in the IEC 60601 3rd edition series. The mandatory date for implementation of the EN European version of the standard is June 1, 2013. The US FDA requires the use of the standard on June 30, 2013, while Health Canada recently extended the required date from June 2012 to April 2013. The North American agencies will only require these standards for new device submissions, while
2204-430: The devices to reduce residual risks at an acceptable level if compared with the benefit derived from the use of it. A product is effective if it performs as specified by the manufacturer in the intended use. Effectiveness is achieved through clinical evaluation, compliance to performance standards or demonstrations of substantial equivalence with an already marketed device. The previous features have to be ensured for all
2262-523: The documentation data and records supporting medical device certification. FDA technical file has similar content although organized in a different structure. The Quality System deliverables usually include procedures that ensure quality throughout all product life cycles. The same standard (ISO EN 13485) is usually applied for quality management systems in the US and worldwide. In the European Union, there are certifying entities named " Notified Bodies ", accredited by
2320-497: The field. They may also feature extensive collaborative efforts with programs in other fields (such as the university's Medical School or other engineering divisions), owing again to the interdisciplinary nature of BME. M.S. and Ph.D. programs will typically require applicants to have an undergraduate degree in BME, or another engineering discipline (plus certain life science coursework), or life science (plus certain engineering coursework). Education in BME also varies greatly around
2378-472: The first time, not only manufacturers but also importers and distributors share a responsibility to ensure Electrical and Electronic Equipment within the scope of RoHS complies with the hazardous substances limits and have a CE mark on their products. The new International Standard IEC 60601 for home healthcare electro-medical devices defining the requirements for devices used in the home healthcare environment. IEC 60601-1-11 (2010) must now be incorporated into
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2436-742: The form of implantable pills or drug-eluting stents . Artificial body part replacements are one of the many applications of bionics. Concerned with the intricate and thorough study of the properties and function of human body systems, bionics may be applied to solve some engineering problems. Careful study of the different functions and processes of the eyes, ears, and other organs paved the way for improved cameras, television, radio transmitters and receivers, and many other tools. In recent years biomedical sensors based in microwave technology have gained more attention. Different sensors can be manufactured for specific uses in both diagnosing and monitoring disease conditions, for example microwave sensors can be used as
2494-489: The future development of prosthetics. For example, cognitive neural prosthetics (CNP) are being heavily researched and would allow for a chip implant to assist people who have prosthetics by providing signals to operate assistive devices. Pharmaceutical engineering is an interdisciplinary science that includes drug engineering, novel drug delivery and targeting, pharmaceutical technology, unit operations of Chemical Engineering , and Pharmaceutical Analysis. It may be deemed as
2552-553: The institution's graduate or research programs, which have some tangible factors for rating, such as research funding and volume, publications and citations. With BME specifically, the ranking of a university's hospital and medical school can also be a significant factor in the perceived prestige of its BME department/program. Graduate education is a particularly important aspect in BME. While many engineering fields (such as mechanical or electrical engineering) do not need graduate-level training to obtain an entry-level job in their field,
2610-449: The last decades to respond to the many incidents caused by devices to patients. For example, from 2008 to 2011, in US, there were 119 FDA recalls of medical devices classified as class I. According to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Class I recall is associated to "a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death" Regardless of
2668-412: The majority of BME positions do prefer or even require them. Since most BME-related professions involve scientific research, such as in pharmaceutical and medical device development, graduate education is almost a requirement (as undergraduate degrees typically do not involve sufficient research training and experience). This can be either a Masters or Doctoral level degree; while in certain specialties
2726-483: The manufactured items of the medical device. This requires that a quality system shall be in place for all the relevant entities and processes that may impact safety and effectiveness over the whole medical device lifecycle. The medical device engineering area is among the most heavily regulated fields of engineering, and practicing biomedical engineers must routinely consult and cooperate with regulatory law attorneys and other experts. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
2784-604: The principles of physics, engineering, and biology to study the interaction of biological tissue and light, and how this can be exploited for sensing, imaging, and treatment. It has a wide range of applications, including optical imaging, microscopy, ophthalmoscopy, spectroscopy, and therapy. Examples of biomedical optics techniques and technologies include optical coherence tomography (OCT), fluorescence microscopy , confocal microscopy , and photodynamic therapy (PDT). OCT, for example, uses light to create high-resolution, three-dimensional images of internal structures, such as
2842-459: The production of new types of experimental mice such as the oncomouse (cancer mouse) for research. Neural engineering (also known as neuroengineering) is a discipline that uses engineering techniques to understand, repair, replace, or enhance neural systems. Neural engineers are uniquely qualified to solve design problems at the interface of living neural tissue and non-living constructs. Neural engineering can assist with numerous things, including
2900-476: The progression of the state of the art so as to redirect procurement patterns accordingly. Their inherent focus on practical implementation of technology has tended to keep them oriented more towards incremental -level redesigns and reconfigurations, as opposed to revolutionary research & development or ideas that would be many years from clinical adoption; however, there is a growing effort to expand this time-horizon over which clinical engineers can influence
2958-698: The research and development of new devices for innovative therapies, treatments, patient monitoring, of complex diseases. Medical devices are regulated and classified (in the US) as follows (see also Regulation ): Medical/biomedical imaging is a major segment of medical devices . This area deals with enabling clinicians to directly or indirectly "view" things not visible in plain sight (such as due to their size, and/or location). This can involve utilizing ultrasound, magnetism, UV, radiology, and other means. Alternatively, navigation-guided equipment utilizes electromagnetic tracking technology, such as catheter placement into
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#17328580496143016-415: The risk management file, the technical file, and the quality system deliveries. The risk management file is the first deliverable that conditions the following design and manufacturing steps. The risk management stage shall drive the product so that product risks are reduced at an acceptable level with respect to the benefits expected for the patients for the use of the device. The technical file contains all
3074-415: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Iron Hand . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iron_Hand&oldid=1121547653 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
3132-399: The structure and characteristics of target genes. Genetic engineering techniques have found success in numerous applications. Some examples include the improvement of crop technology ( not a medical application , but see biological systems engineering ), the manufacture of synthetic human insulin through the use of modified bacteria, the manufacture of erythropoietin in hamster ovary cells, and
3190-502: The trajectory of biomedical innovation. In their various roles, they form a "bridge" between the primary designers and the end-users, by combining the perspectives of being both close to the point-of-use, while also trained in product and process engineering. Clinical engineering departments will sometimes hire not just biomedical engineers, but also industrial/systems engineers to help address operations research/optimization, human factors, cost analysis, etc. Also, see safety engineering for
3248-428: The world. By virtue of its extensive biotechnology sector, its numerous major universities, and relatively few internal barriers, the U.S. has progressed a great deal in its development of BME education and training opportunities. Europe, which also has a large biotechnology sector and an impressive education system, has encountered trouble in creating uniform standards as the European community attempts to supplant some of
3306-467: Was offered at University of Guelph as a four-year B.Eng. program. The Polytechnique in Montreal is also offering a bachelors's degree in biomedical engineering as is Flinders University. As with many degrees, the reputation and ranking of a program may factor into the desirability of a degree holder for either employment or graduate admission. The reputation of many undergraduate degrees is also linked to
3364-614: Was replaced and superseded by 2011/65/EU published in July 2011 and commonly known as RoHS 2. RoHS seeks to limit the dangerous substances in circulation in electronics products, in particular toxins and heavy metals, which are subsequently released into the environment when such devices are recycled. The scope of RoHS 2 is widened to include products previously excluded, such as medical devices and industrial equipment. In addition, manufacturers are now obliged to provide conformity risk assessments and test reports – or explain why they are lacking. For
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