Biomedical Engineering
Learn About Biomedical Engineering
Biomedical engineering is one of the divisions of engineering that has been flooded with applicants in the past decade. Right now, the job growth isn’t as strong as it is with other engineering specialties, but this could change quickly as technology advances. Biomedical engineering deals with the medical field, mainly with the development of machinery used to diagnose and treat patients with various ailments or conditions. When thinking about biomedical engineering, it is generally easiest to look at some of the tools that are being used in medicine today.
One of the biggest developments in medicine has been the invention of the X-ray machine. This is one of many pieces of equipment made possible through biomedical engineering. Centuries ago, a broken bone was diagnosed solely through feeling the area and feeling for a bone break, but this was both painful and not always accurate. With the development of an X-ray machine, doctors could see exactly where the break was located, how bad it was, and they could keep track of the healing process. As biomedical engineering technology advanced, the birth of ultrasound machines, MRI machinery, and other life saving equipment came about. Even though these machines are in use, biomedical engineering workers are constantly working to improve on them by coming up with clearer images and faster working equipment.
Other items that biomedical engineering has created over time include the artificial heart, pacemakers, artificial limbs, dental implants, dialysis machines, contact lenses, and even breast implants. These devices are rated in terms of safety by workers in biomedical engineering with class I being harmless to class III, which require period review to ensure they are still safe and not causing bodily harm or illness. Think back a number of years to the silicon breast implants that were leaking. This is why a rating system is in place and why biomedical engineering continually works to improve products.
