Biomedical engineers design diagnostic and monitoring devices.
Whenever you read about a new breakthrough in medical technology, chances are a biomedical engineer was involved. Biomedical engineers are professionals who bring together medical knowledge and engineering technology to advance medical treatment and research. From designing and building diagnostic equipment to improving prosthetic devices, biomedical engineers are deeply involved in modern research and clinical practice.
About Biomedical Engineering
Biomedical engineers require a combination of training in an engineering specialty, such as mechanical or electronic engineering, and a deep knowledge of medicine and medical procedures. Biomedical engineers in various specialties develop new diagnostic and imagery systems and instrumentation, create medical IT systems, create prostheses and artificial organs and various devices for controlling or modifying body functions. Originally an interdisciplinary study between the medical and engineering professions, biomedical engineering is emerging as a discipline in its own right.
Education for Biomedical Engineers
Historically, biomedical engineers have held graduate degrees in biomedical engineering, or a related field of engineering with an added focus on medicine and human physiology. As biomedical engineering has become more widespread, focused undergraduate programs have emerged and are now plentiful. These may be in biomedical engineering, or in a related field of engineering with a biomedical concentration. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology maintains a searchable database of all accredited biomedical engineering programs on its website.
Johns Hopkins University
"U.S. News and World Report" offers an annual survey of the best schools in the field of biomedical engineering. In its 2011 rankings, Johns Hopkins University is ranked in the top position. Johns Hopkins is in Baltimore and the surrounding area. The university's nine graduate programs include schools of medicine and engineering, both of which contribute to the biomedical engineering program. The university is associated with the Johns Hopkins Hospital, which provides a venue for clinical experience.
Duke University
Second place in the "U.S. News and World Report" 2011 rankings goes to Duke University of Durham, North Carolina. Duke's Pratt School of Engineering places heavy emphasis on research, and, according to the school's website, two-thirds of biomedical engineering students are actively involved in research projects. Research at Duke revolves around biomechanics, biomedical imaging, biomolecular and tissue engineering, and electrobiology and neural engineering.
Georgia Tech
At third place in the 2011 rankings is Atlanta's Georgia Institute of Technology. Like Duke and Johns Hopkins, it is a research-oriented school. Biomedical engineering students are educated at the Wallace Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, a joint project of Emory University's medical program and Georgia Tech's engineering program. The department offers both undergrad and graduate degrees in biomedical engineering.
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