Workshop: Harmonization of

Biomedical Engineering Education-

Status and Challanges

Ratko Magjarević, Shankhar Krishnan, Herbert Voigt, Martha Zequera, Mario Secca,

Nicolas Pallikarakis, James Goh

International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering

Outline

• Introduction

– Definition of BME

– BME around the World

– Achievements of Biomedical Engineering in 20th

Century

– Challenges of Biomedical Engineering for 21th

Century

– Why to study Biomedical Engineering?

– Announcement of presentations on BMR

Education to follow

– IFMBE and its position

Biomedical Engineering

Biomedical engineering is an engineering discipline that:

• advances knowledge in engineering, biology and medicine, and in basic

sciences,

• improves human health by design and problem solving skills of engineering

science applied to diagnosis, monitoring, therapy and rehabilitation, but also to

prevention and prediction

• integrates engineering sciences with biomedical sciences and clinical practice

http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=106041

+ Peruvian BME society4

Membership• IFMBE is a federation of 52 national and 6 transnational BME societies,

with more than 120.000 members all over the world

d

Argentina Australia Austria Belgium

Brazil Bulgaria Canada China

China Taipei Colombia Croatia Cuba

Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia

Finland France Germany Greece

Hong Kong Hungary Iceland Ireland

Israel Italy Japan Korea

Latvia Lithuania Malaysia Mexico

Mongolia The Netherlands Nigeria Norway

Poland Portugal Romania Serbia

Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Africa

Spain Sweden Switzerland Thailand

Ukraine United Kingdom United States Venezuela

ACEE CAHTMA EAMBES ESEM

ICMCC IEEE EMBS

Global Development of BME 5

Affiliated Organizations

6

IFMBE

IUPESM

IOMP

ICSUUN

UNESCO

UNIDOWorld Alliance

for Patient Safety

E-health

Initiative

Standardisation

ISOIEC

CENELEC

CEN

WHO

IFMBE’s Liaisons

Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century

1. Electrification

2. Automobile

3. Airplane

4. Water Supply and Distribution

5. Electronics

6. Radio and Television

7. Agricultural Mechanization

8. Computers

9. Telephone

10. Air Conditioning and Refrigeration

Source: http://www.greatachievements.org/default.aspx

1. Electrification

2. Automobile

3. Airplane

4. Water Supply and Distribution

5. Electronics

6. Radio and Television

7. Agricultural Mechanization

8. Computers

9. Telephone

10. Air Conditioning and Refrigeration

Source: http://www.greatachievements.org/default.aspx

11. Highways

12. Spacecraft

13. Internet

14. Imaging

15. Household Appliances

16. Health Technologies

17. Petroleum and Petrochemical

18. Laser and Fiber Optics

19. Nuclear Technologies

20. High-performance Materials

11. Highways

12. Spacecraft

13. Internet

14. Imaging

15. Household Appliances

16. Health Technologies

17. Petroleum and Petrochemical

18. Laser and Fiber Optics

19. Nuclear Technologies

20. High-performance Materials

How old is Biomedical Engineering?

• Leonardo da Vinci researched the anatomy and mechanics of human body

• Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta (18th century), dicovered biopotentials and bioelectricity

• The development of biomedical electronics, today called biomedical engineering starts intensivly after the invention of the silicon transistor, 1947

• Institutionally, at international level, in 1959, the Int’l Society for Biomedical Electronics (today IFMBE) was founded in Paris

• Peer reviewed journals – 50th anniversary of Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing cellebrated in May 2012

Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century

Electronics

• Silicon transistors enabled miniaturization and reduction of

power consumption

• Medical instrumentation entered clinical settings

• Portable instrumentation – for emergancy, battery powered

• Implantable devices

• Integrated circuits – further stap in miniaturization

• Microcontrollers – automatic actions of instrumentation and

devices

• Computers – autonomous decision making of medical devices

Electronics

• Silicon transistors enabled miniaturization and reduction of

power consumption

• Medical instrumentation entered clinical settings

• Portable instrumentation – for emergancy, battery powered

• Implantable devices

• Integrated circuits – further stap in miniaturization

• Microcontrollers – automatic actions of instrumentation and

devices

• Computers – autonomous decision making of medical devices

Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century

Imaging – medical applications

• Detection of X-rays in late 19th century (1895) enabled visualization of hard

(higher density) parts of the human body

• X-ray crystallography enabled visualization of the double helix of the DNA

• Electron microscopy for research of cellular parts

• Imaging of radiation of radioactive nuclides inserted into the body – PET,

SPECT

• Computerized tomography (CT) enabled multiple cross-sectional views and

3D reconstruction of organs and parts of the body

• Ultrasound imaging enabled non-invasive imaging and imaging of body organs

in movement (heart)

• Magnetic resonance imaging supplements CT as a non-invasive method for

obtaining cross-sections and 3D reconstructions

• Many other modalities…

Imaging – medical applications

• Detection of X-rays in late 19th century (1895) enabled visualization of hard

(higher density) parts of the human body

• X-ray crystallography enabled visualization of the double helix of the DNA

• Electron microscopy for research of cellular parts

• Imaging of radiation of radioactive nuclides inserted into the body – PET,

SPECT

• Computerized tomography (CT) enabled multiple cross-sectional views and

3D reconstruction of organs and parts of the body

• Ultrasound imaging enabled non-invasive imaging and imaging of body organs

in movement (heart)

• Magnetic resonance imaging supplements CT as a non-invasive method for

obtaining cross-sections and 3D reconstructions

• Many other modalities…

Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century

Health Technologies

• Enabled drastical increase of life expectancy, from 47 to 77 years within 100

years

• Diagnostic devices – e.g. electrocardiograph (ECG)

• Life supporting machines – respirator

• Artificials pacemakers – external, totally implantable….

• Artificial organs – dyalisis, contact lens, hip….

• Laser intervetnions in oculography

• Computerized tomography (CT), MRI, Medical Ultrasound….

• Active implantable devices – cohlear implant, cardioverter defibrillator….

• Human Genome Project

Health Technologies

• Enabled drastical increase of life expectancy, from 47 to 77 years within 100

years

• Diagnostic devices – e.g. electrocardiograph (ECG)

• Life supporting machines – respirator

• Artificials pacemakers – external, totally implantable….

• Artificial organs – dyalisis, contact lens, hip….

• Laser intervetnions in oculography

• Computerized tomography (CT), MRI, Medical Ultrasound….

• Active implantable devices – cohlear implant, cardioverter defibrillator….

• Human Genome Project

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Challanges of Biomedical Engineering

•ICT in medicine and health care•Minimally invazive surgery•Biomedical sensors•Medical imaging and visualisation of the data•Intelligent materials•Cellular and stem cell engineering•Nanotechnology•Modeling and simulition of physiologic systems and human body as a whole• ……

•ICT in medicine and health care•Minimally invazive surgery•Biomedical sensors•Medical imaging and visualisation of the data•Intelligent materials•Cellular and stem cell engineering•Nanotechnology•Modeling and simulition of physiologic systems and human body as a whole• ……

Reverse-engineer the brain

Grand Challanges• The intersection of engineering and neuroscience promises great

advances in health care, manufacturing, and communication.

– Understanding how and why brain works and fails

– Simulations leading to more sophisticated methods for testing new technologies like drugs and neural implants

• Artificial retina

• Cohlear implants

• Movement and prosthesis control

• Fighting dementia, Parkinson disease….

– Building smarter computers

• http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9109.aspx

Blue Brain ProjectIBM & Ecole Polytechnique Federale de

Lausanne

• creating a detailed model of the circuitry in the neocortex - the largest and most complex part of the human brain (center for higher cognitive functions)

Source: http://www.visualcomplexity.com/vc/project.cfm?id=145

• vast parallel computing network to simulate what is REALLY going on in a brain, neuron by neuron, column by column, up through a “real” human brain

Source: http://arttechlaw.com/if-i-only-had-a-blue-brain

Reverse-engineer the brain

• First information for

the Blue Brain Project

was obtained from

the brain of rats

• Tearing the brains

took two years of

work of the BBP teamSource: http://wikileaksnews.net/build-a-virtual-brain-in-a-

supercomputer-blue-brain-project.html

Reverse-engineer the brain

Advance health informatics

Grand Challenges

• Health and biomedical informatics encompass issues from – personal to global,

– ranging from thorough medical records for individual patients to sharing data about

disease outbreaks among governments and international health organizations.

• Maintaining a healthy population in the 21st century will require systems

engineering approaches to redesign care practices and integrate local,

regional, national, and global health informatics networks.

• Systematic approach to health informatics — the acquisition, management,

and use of information in health — can greatly enhance the quality and

efficiency of medical care

• http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9109.aspx

• Flow of medical

information between:

– clinical institutions

– public health

organizations

– general practitioners

– Patients

• Enpowering patients

– Ownership of personal

medical data

– Decision making

Advance health informatics

Why to study Biomedical Engineering?

• Established field of science and engineering – still a lot of challenges – need for innovation

• Use engineering and science to help living beings

• Apply experience and knowledge of living systems to designing inovative machines

• Rapidly expanding field

• Industrial and research opportunities available, employment also in hospitals and in government regulatory agencies

• BME for improving the effectiveness and delivery of clinical medicine

• Students enthusiastic because BME is directed to improve health and wellbeing of people

“Biomedical

engineers are

projected to be the

fastest growing

occupation in the

economy.”

Source: 2008-2018 prediction by the US

Department of Labor

The Jobs of the Future – extected growth

Biomedical engineers 72%

Network systems analysts 53

Home health aides 50

Personal and home-care aides 46

Financial examiners 41

Medical scientists 40

Physician assistants 39

Skin-care specialists 38

Biochemists and biophysicists 37

Athletic trainers 37Source: Wall Street Journal, 26 May 2010

Job Oportunities - Labor Market

Best Jobs in America 2012

Best Jobs in America 2013

BME innovation in Europe

Number of Patent-Applications to the European Patentoffice 2006Number of Patent-Applications to the European Patentoffice 2006

Investments inR&D formedical devices

Products,

not older

than 3

years

Above 9%

of

turnover

ca 1/3 of allproducts

The Technology Top-ten

Medical Device Technology

Electrical Information Techn.

Information Technology

Electrical compounds

Organic chemistry

Measures / Analyses

Automotive

Biochem. / Genetic Engineer.

Organ.macromol.compounds

Machine compounds

22

Biomedical Engineering Education in Europe

Core topics

• Biomaterials

• Biomechanics

• Biomedical data and signal processing

• Biomedical instrumentation and sensors

• Health technology design, assessment and management

• Information and communication technologies in medicine and

healthcare

• Medical imaging and image processing

Source: Promoting Harmonization of BME Education in Europe:

The CRH-BME Tempus Project, 2009-2012

Core topics

• Biomaterials

• Biomechanics

• Biomedical data and signal processing

• Biomedical instrumentation and sensors

• Health technology design, assessment and management

• Information and communication technologies in medicine and

healthcare

• Medical imaging and image processing

Source: Promoting Harmonization of BME Education in Europe:

The CRH-BME Tempus Project, 2009-2012

Review of the BME programs in Europe

• 46 Countries in Europe investigated

• 40 Countries have BME program

• ~ 150 Universities across Europe

• 309 BME programs

~ 27 % BSc, ~ 53 % MSc, ~ 20% PhD

• 46 Countries in Europe investigated

• 40 Countries have BME program

• ~ 150 Universities across Europe

• 309 BME programs

~ 27 % BSc, ~ 53 % MSc, ~ 20% PhD

Presentations within the Workshop

• Shankar Krishnan: Selection of Internship from Multiple

Opportunities to Enhance Biomedical Engineering Curriculum

Design

• Mario F. Secca: In defense of a 5 year Integrated master

program: The case of Portugal

• Z. Bliznakov, R. Magjarevic, N. Pallikarakis CURRICULA

REFORMATION AND HARMONISATION IN THE FIELD OF

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING: THE TEMPUS IV CRH-BME

PROJECT AT A GLANCE

• Martha Zequera: BME Report - Latin America

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Conclusions

• IFMBE

recognised as one of the most important bodies in development of biomedical and clinical engineering

driver of many actions at global level relevant for medicine and health care

all aspects of biomedical and clinical engineering are present in the strategy and in plans of the IFMBE

in order to achieve its goals, the IFMBE is seeking for close collaboration with biomedical engineering comunity worldwide

IFMBE is based on voluntary work – JOIN US!

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Thank you for your attention!

Visit IFMBE @ www.ifmbe.org