Biomedical engineers combine the principles of engineering with the medical and biological sciences to design and create equipment, devices, computer systems and software used in healthcare.
Duties of Biomedical Engineers
Biomedical engineers often do the following:
• Designing equipment and devices, such as internal artificial organs, body part replacements, and machines for diagnosing medical problems
• Install, adjust, maintain, repair or provide technical support for biomedical equipment
• Evaluate the safety, efficiency and effectiveness of biomedical equipment
• Train clinicians and other staff on proper use of equipment
• Work with life scientists, chemists and medical scientists to investigate the engineering aspects of human and animal biological systems
• Prepare procedures, draft technical reports, publish research papers and make recommendations based on research findings
• Present the results of the research to scientists, non-scientific executives, clinicians, hospital managers, engineers, other colleagues and the public.
Biomedical engineers design instruments, devices and software used in health care; Gather the knowledge of many technical sources to develop new procedures; Or carry out the research necessary to solve clinical problems.
They often serve a coordinating function, using their background in engineering and medicine. For example, they can create products for which a deep understanding of living systems and technology is essential. They often work in research and development or in quality assurance.
Biomedical engineers design electrical circuits, software to run medical equipment, or computer simulations to test new drug treatments. In addition, they design and build artificial body parts, such as hip and knee joints. In some cases, they develop the materials needed to make replacement body parts. They also design rehabilitation exercise equipment.
The work of these engineers covers many professional fields. For example, although their experience is based on engineering and biology, they often design software to run complicated instruments, such as three-dimensional X-ray machines. Alternatively, many of these engineers use their chemistry and biology skills to develop new drug therapies. Others rely on mathematics and statistics to construct models to understand signals transmitted by the brain or heart.