Department of Biomedical Engineering

Biomedical engineering, also known as bioengineering, biomed or BME, refers to the field of study that merges biology and engineering. This unique, interdisciplinary field, allows you to cover a wider range of subjects, where you use the in-depth understanding that you have of engineering to solving medical and biological problems.

With technology advancing at such a rapid pace, it is no wonder that the developments in science and engineering are being integrated into the medical sector. Any new knowledge of living systems gained through analytical techniques based on engineering sciences contribute to the progress of medicine. This integration has given rise to the interdisciplinary field of biomedical engineering and as a result, created biomedical engineering jobs.

Prominent breakthroughs in the biomedical engineering field include life-saving and life-changing technology such artificial organs, prosthetics, surgical devices, pacemakers, EEGs, regenerative tissue growth, pharmaceutical drugs, kidney dialysis, to name a few.  Some of the earlier inventions that you know about today include crutches, dentures, platform shoes and the electron microscope.

Career paths
As you can probably guess, something this important is highly sought-after, biomedical engineers are employed in top pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, research facilities, government agencies, universities and many more.  In a broad sense, biomedical engineering jobs can include performance testing of new or proposed products, teaching and research, become technical advisors or invent a new machine for medical purposes and so on.

Here are some of the industries/places that need your expertise.

• Manufacturing
• Universities
• Hospitals
• Private or government funded research facilities
• Education and medical institutions

Some of the interesting things that you can do:

• Design equipment, devices and machines
• Install, adjust, maintain and repair biomedical equipment
• Evaluate the quality, safety, efficiency and effectiveness of biomedical equipment
• Train clinicians and other hospital staff the proper use of complex biomedical equipment
• Work with chemists, life and medical scientists to research engineering aspects of human and animal biological systems.
• Formulate procedures, write technical reports, publish research papers and make recommendations based on your research results
• Present these results to both the scientific and non-scientific communities

Some of the senior posts in the private industry include:

• Management marketing
• Product manager
• Quality assurance consultant
• Technical advisor