Science and Technology: Bio-medical Engineering Products

Bio Medical Engineering

Biomedical engineering is the fusion of medical and engineering principles. It combines the both standards for applying in the related sectors.Bio medical engineering, or bio engineering, is the application of engineering principles to the fields of biology and health care. Bioengineers work with doctors, therapists and researchers to develop systems, equipment and devices in order to solve clinical problems.

Biomedical engineers have developed a number of life-enhancing and life-saving technologies.The practice of biomedical engineering has a long history. One of the earliest examples is a wood and leather prosthetic toe found on a 3,000-year-old Egyptian mummy. Before that, even simple crutches and walking sticks were a form of engineered assistive devices, and the first person to fashion a splint for a broken bone could be considered to have been an early biomedical engineer.

Bioengineering as a defined field is relatively new, although attempts to solve biological problems have persisted throughout history. Recently, the practice of bioengineering has expanded beyond large-scale efforts like prosthetics and hospital equipment to include engineering at the molecular and cellular level – with applications in energy and the environment as well as healthcare.

A very broad area of study, bioengineering can include elements of electrical and mechanical engineering, computer science, materials, chemistry and biology. This breadth allows students and faculty to specialize in their areas of interest and collaborate widely with researchers in allied fields.

Graduates are well placed to work in management, production or research and development in a variety of industries – such as medical devices, diagnostics, genetics, healthcare industry support, pharmaceutical manufacture, drug discovery, environmental remediation, or agricultural advancement – as well as in nonprofit and academic research. Many go on to receive advanced degrees in bioengineering or a related field, or to medical school. Other students find the rigor of bioengineering a useful launching point for careers in business or law.

iomedical engineering has evolved over the years in response to advancements in science and technology. Throughout history, humans have made increasingly more effective devices to diagnose and treat diseases and to alleviate, rehabilitate or compensate for disabilities or injuries. One example is the evolution of hearing aids to mitigate hearing loss through sound amplification. The ear trumpet, a large horn-shaped device that was held up to the ear, was the only "viable form" of hearing assistance until the mid-20th century, according to the Hearing Aid Museum. Electrical devices had been developed before then, but were slow to catch on, the museum said on its website.

The works of Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison on sound transmission and amplification in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were applied to make the first tabletop hearing aids. These were followed by the first portable (or "luggable") devices using vacuum-tube amplifiers powered by large batteries. However, the first wearable hearing aids had to await the development of the transistor by William Shockley and his team at Bell Laboratories. Subsequent development of micro-integrated circuits and advance battery technology has led to miniature hearing aids that fit entirely within the ear canal.

The BLS projects that employment of biomedical engineers will grow 27 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations. Demand will be strong because an aging population is likely to need more medical care and because of increased public awareness of biomedical engineering advances and their benefits, according to the BLS.

Applications of bio medical engineering

Biomedical Engineering is an exciting and emerging interdisciplinary field that combines engineering with life sciences. The relevance of this area can be perceived in our everyday lives every time we go to hospital, receive medical treatment or even when we buy health products such as an automatic blood pressure monitor device. Over the past years we have experienced a great technological development in health care and this is due to the joint work of engineers, mathematicians, physicians, computer scientists and many other professionals. This book introduces a collection of papers organized into three sections that provide state of the art examples of practical applications in Biomedical Engineering in the area of Biomedical Signal Processing and Modelling, Biomaterials and Prosthetic Devices, and Biomedical Image Processing.

Types of bio-medical equipment

Medical or hospital equipment also known as armamentarium is designed to aid in the diagnosis, monitoring or treatment of patients in various health care departments. The development of new advance featured medical equipment helps a patient to easily recover from their disease. There are several basic types of hospital equipment are:

Diagnostic equipment

Equipment or tools used to diagnose, test or screen for health conditions are known as diagnostic equipment.Thermometer, Sphygmomanometer, Stethoscope, X-Ray machines, MRI machines comes in this category. It is said that correct diagnosis leads to correct treatment and it is the first task of the doctor, without doing this a health care professional cannot treat a patient well. Aim of hospitals which are health care centres is to diagnose, treat and care for their patient who suffers from any disease or injury. There is wide range of diagnostic equipment easily available in the market. With the help of CT scan you are able detect heart disease. X-Ray machine is helpful in scanning orthopaedic and other ailments.

Surgical equipment

Success of a surgery depends on accuracy continuity and high quality surgical instruments used during surgery. The range of surgical instruments is wide and it can be divided into six categories by function. These are:

Cutting instruments:Bone chisel, dissecting knife, tenotomy scissors and bone cutter are used as cutting instrument during surgery.

Grasping or holding instruments:Examples of grasping or holding instrument are surgical Pinzette, forceps dissecting, forceps tissue and needle holder.

Haemostatic forceps:Mosquito forceps, Kelly forceps and kocher forceps are known as haemostatic forceps which are used to stop blood flow during surgery.

Retractors:Nerve hook, Obstetrical hook, goelet retractor and skin hook with the help of these instruments a surgeon can either actively separate the edges of a surgical incision or wound.

Longterm use Equipment

Wheel chair, commodes and raised toilet sheet, walker and power operated vehicles which improves the quality of living of the patients are known as durable medical equipment. It also includes iron lungs, oxygen tents, nebulizers, catheters and hospital beds. Durable medical equipment is long lasting that are able to protect patients from injury.

Physiotherpic equipment

There are numerous of medical equipment that can be used to treat patients and therapeutic medical equipment is one of these. Physiotherapy includes electrotherapy devices, ultrasound, laser therapy and magneto therapy equipment, high technology is used to design all these devices. Therapeutic medical products serve to both prevent and heal wounds of their patients with various types of swelling and wounds related to disease states ranging from lymphedema to diabetes need to depend on these products.

Biomedical Equipments