What is Biomedical Engineering?

What is a Biomedical Engineer?

A biomedical engineer uses traditional engineering expertise to analyze and solve problems in biology and medicine, providing an overall enhancement of health care.  Students choose biomedical engineering to be of service to people and to partake of the excitement of working with living systems.  Biomedical engineers work closely with traditional engineers, basic scientists, and health care professionals including physicians, nurses and technicians, and may be called upon in a wide range of capacities: to design instruments and devices, to provide knowledge for developing new procedures or advancing scientific research, or to conduct research needed to solve clinical problems.

Where do Biomedical Engineers work?

Biomedical engineers are employed at universities, in industry, in hospitals, in research facilities of educational and medical institutions, and in government regulatory agencies.  They often serve a coordinating or interfacing function, using their background in both the engineering and biomedical fields.  In industry, they may create designs where an in-depth understanding of both living systems and of technology is essential.  They may be involved in performance testing of new or proposed products.  Government positions often involve product testing and safety, and establishing safety standards for devices.  In the hospital, the biomedical engineer may provide advice on the selection and use of medical equipment, as well as supervising its performance testing and maintenance. They may also build customized devices for special health care or research needs.  In research institutions, biomedical engineers supervise laboratories and equipment, and participate in or direct research activities in collaboration with other researchers with such diverse backgrounds as medicine, nursing, biology and chemistry.  Biomedical engineers often have advanced training in other fields as well.  For example, many biomedical engineers also have an M.D. degree, thereby combining an understanding of advanced technology with patient care or clinical research.

What will the future demand be for Biomedical Engineers?

The United States Department of Labor reports that “the number of biomedical engineering jobs will increase by 31.4 percent through 2010---double the rate for all other jobs combined.”  Overall job growth in this field will average 15.2% through the end of the decade.  The U.S. Department of Labor report attributed the rapid rise in biomedical engineering jobs in part to an aging U.S. population and the increasing demand for improved medical devices and systems.  Specific growth areas cited in the report included computer-assisted surgery, cellular and tissue engineering, rehabilitation, and orthopedic engineering.

How should a student prepare for a career in Biomedical Engineering?

The biomedical engineering student should first plan to become a good engineer and acquire an understanding of life sciences.  Good communication skills are also important, because biomedical engineers often provide a vital link among professionals with medical, technical, scientific, or other engineering backgrounds.

High school preparation for biomedical engineering is the same as that for any other engineering discipline, except that life science course work should also be included.  Advanced Placement courses in these areas would help.  At the college level, the student usually selects engineering as the general area of study, and then chooses a discipline concentration within engineering.  Some students will major in chemical, electrical, mechanical engineering or materials science and engineering with an emphasis in biomedical engineering.  

Upon graduation, many students continue their education in a graduate school where they obtain valuable biomedical research experience at the Masters or Doctoral level.  When entering the job market, the graduate should ideally be able to point to well-defined traditional engineering skills for application to the biomedical field, with some project or in-the-field experience in biomedical engineering.

Frequently Asked Questions about Undergraduate BME Programs

Frequently Asked Questions about Graduate BME Programs