In recent years, new professional disciplines have emerged in which one activity is combined and complemented by others. In this post, we will explain one of those new university careers with many job prospects and that make life easier from a health perspective: Biomedical Engineering.
What is Biomedical Engineering
Biomedical Engineering, also known as Bioengineering, is the application of engineering, such as Telecommunications, Electronic Engineering or Computer Science, to life sciences, as are Medicine, Pharmacy, Biology, and Biotechnology.
Biomedical Engineering differs from other branches of engineering by its clear inclination towards research. It combines tools used in Mathematics, Physics, Computer Programming or Chemistry, to aid in problem solving in the fields of Medicine, Biology, Pharmacy or Biotechnology. This engineering expertise is used for health care profit.
This new degree is gaining wide acceptance among university students.
Application of Biomedical Engineering
This fantastic combination of engineering with life and health sciences has led to interesting research projects in Biology and Medical fields. Biomedical engineers work with the design and creation of healthcare products and technologies, such as prosthetics, medical equipment, and devices that are utilized for patient diagnosis and therapy. They also participate in the management and administration of resources in hospitals.
Thus, projects related to X-rays or CT analysis, the modeling of organs such as the heart, the nervous system, and the vascular system, go ahead … new analyses of the human genome for the creation of new drugs, software designs, and algorithms for bioinformatics applications, telemedicine, hospital care and management.
Biomedical engineers also work with the design of bone prostheses, heart valves, orthopedics, and the study of new technologies to support disabilities. Biomedical engineering is also responsible for the design of dental appliances and prostheses, such as dental veneers, crowns, or braces that are used in any dental clinic to correct multiple dental and mouth problems.
What does the profile of a Biomedical Engineer look like?
This is a professional that has received education and training at the university level on subjects and skills within the fields of engineering and life and health sciences. From a training perspective, after obtaining this degree, the individual would proceed to obtain a specialized master’s degree and even a doctorate.
The job prospects for biomedical engineers are extensive and may vary from job performance in the public sector in health and research institutions or companies, to working in the private sector with medical equipment, biomedical maintenance and medical software development. They can also work as supervisory consultants for national and international biosafety standards or in companies who focus in meteorology. These are some of their professional profiles:
- Designs and operates equipment based on medical needs and includes the instruments or hardware and their programming and software.
- Constructs and disseminates biomedical equipment.
- Is in charge of maintenance and repair of these medical equipment.
- Is responsible for training medical teams, paramedics, and hospital technicians.
- Creates communication link with the medical physicists
- Checks the biological, mechanical, electrical, microbiological, and radiation safety standards.
Biomedical Engineering vs. Biotechnology
They are not the same discipline. We have already pointed out that the biomedical engineer or bioengineer works with the implementation of engineering principles and techniques to the health and medical fields.
A Biotechnology degree is the closest to Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry or Pharmacy. Professionals in this discipline work in a biological laboratory. Their work consists of the investigation of microorganisms, whether they are animal or vegetable cells, and their use in agriculture, the environment, food, medicine, biology or in the field of chemistry. A biotechnologist can work in a development, production and quality control laboratory or in industries related to various disciplines such as medicine, veterinary medicine, agronomy, food, the environment, chemistry, microbiology or pharmacy.