Designing a Career in BME

생체의공학 개론김 태 성

경희대학교 생체의공학과

Is biomedical engineering right for you?

• Interdisciplinary: expertise in biology, medicine, physics, mathematics, engineering, communication, etc.• Need to be creative, knowledgeable, imaginative• Work with physicians, scientists, engineers, business professionals• At the intersection of science, medicine, and mathematics to solve biological and medical problems• A very large field: it take a gifted person several lifetimes to master just a few of the many disciplines.

What do biomedical engineers do?

• Work in industry, academic institutions, hospitals, and government agencies.• Spend days in designing, manufacturing, testing devices. Also programming software, interfacing professionals from different fields.• Use chemistry, physics, mathematical models, computer simulations in the various areas: wireless tech., rehabilitation, nanotechnology, micro-machines, etc.• Possible professions: physicians, business manager, patent attorneys, physical therapists, professors, research scientists, teachers, technical writers, sales person, field engineers, etc.

How do biomedical engineers differ from other engineers?• Must integrate biology and medicine with engineering.• Have a solid background in more traditional engineering disciplines, such as electrical, mechanical, chemical engineering, or materials sciences• Integration is very important!

What kind of education does a biomedical engineers degree require?• Hard skills: science and engineering skills• Soft skills: teamwork, practical exercise, leadership, entrepreneurship, speaking, writing

How much education does a biomedical engineer require?• A minimum 4 years: may enter entry level engineering position in a medical device or pharmaceutical company, a clinical engineering position in a hospital, a sales position for a biomedical or biotechnology companies.• More training in a graduate school: 2 years for MS and extra 4 years for Ph.D.• Or pursue degrees in business, law, public heath schools to be business CEO, CTO, patent laywers• Or medical training in medical schools, dental schools to be physicians.

What major should I choose as an undergraduate?

What types of university courses will prepare me to become a biomedical engineer?

• Solid foundation in biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics. Extras in physiology, biochemistry, inorganic and organic chemistry• Engineering skills: electronics, instrumentation design, static and dynamics, signals and systems, engineering design.• Specialties in bioelectronics, biomechanics, biomaterials, physiologic systems, biological signal processing, rehabilitation, telemedicine, virtual reality, robotic aided surgery, clinical engineering, tissue engineering, neural engineering, Biocomputing, bioinformatics, etc• Technical writing, ethics, humanities• Business course in engineering management

What kind of practical experience can I expect to gain while training to be a biomedical engineer?

• Real-world experience is important: internship• Look for corporative training programs• Engage in research in a faculty laboratory

• Begin at a low level and working toward more intensive invovelment. • Be proactive and approach faculty.

The BME job market

• The BME job market is still SMALL!!!• BME job market is open not only to BME graduates but also to many students in engineering (sometimes to science majors).• Be a professional: research (Ph.D.), law (JD), medicine (MD), business (MBA).• Other fields: regulation such as 식약처, 보건부• BME positions often require at least MS and Ph.D.

What are some of the key areas of BME? (1)

• Practical Applications• Clinical Engineering• Rehabilitation Engineering

• Starting from Physiology• Neural Systems Engineering• Cardiac Bioengineering• Physiological System Modeling

• Electronics Technology and Instrumentation• Instrumentation, Sensors, and Measurement• Bio-Signal Processing

What are some of the key areas of BME? (2)

• Biomedical Images and Signals• Imaging and Image Processing• Radiology

• Molecular Biology Meets Computers• Medical and Health Informatics• Bioinformatics (including Genomics)• Proteomics

• Medicine Meets Computers• Information Technology• Telemedicine

What are some of the key areas of BME? (3)

• Mechanics Meets Biology and Medicine• Biomechanics• Robotics in Surgery

• Materials Go Very Small• BioMEMS• Micro and Nanotechnology• Biomaterials

• Chemical Engineering Approaches• Biotechnology• Drug Delivery• Biofuels

What are some of the key areas of BME? (4)

• Biology Goes Engineering• Tissue Engineering• Cellular and Molecular Biomechanics• Genetic Engineering and Synthetic Biology

Where do I get more information about BME?• IEEE EMBS• National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (www.nibib.nih.gov)