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Paul H. King

IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006

Book Reviews

Biomedical Engineering PrinciplesArthur B. Ritter, Stanley Reisman,and Bozena B. Michniak, CRC Press,Taylor and Francis Group, 2005.ISBN: 0824796160, 680 pages,US$99.95.

This book serves as an introductionto the field of biomedical engineeringfor students with undergraduate train-ing in engineering, physics, and mathe-matics. This book can be used forsenior- or graduate-level classes at uni-versities, for short courses, or as a gen-eral knowledge book for practicingengineers wanting to learn more aboutbiomedical engineering.

The classic description of biomed-ical engineering is that it is the appli-cation of engineering analysis toproblems in medicine and life sci-ences. Biomedical engineering is notone discipline but several interactingdisciplines that coexist within thesame field. Since biomedical engi-neering cuts across several engineer-ing disciplines, the book is dividedinto several sections. Each section isintended to be complementary and toserve as a background for students orpractitioners whose prior training hasnot included this material.

The first section addresses model-ing, transport processes, cell physiol-ogy, and the cardiovascular system.Chapter 1 presents an overview andintroduction to engineering analysisof physiological systems, the natureof biological data, and the role ofmodels and simulation in experimen-tal design. The chapter introduces theconcepts of conservation of mass,compartments, convection, and diffu-sion. It also develops pharmacokineticmodels for drug distribution. Chapter2 covers cell physiology and trans-port, introducing the primary mecha-

nisms by which water and solutes getinto and out of cells. Chapter 3 coversthe fundamentals of hemodynamicsand the nature of blood and bloodvessels as engineering materials.Chapter 4 is an introduction to thecardiovascular system, covering thecardiac conduction pathway, controlof heart rate, EKG measurement andinterpretation, cardiac output, cardiacwork, and autonomic and local regu-lation of blood flow.

The second section of the bookreviews the concepts of biomedicalsignal processing. Chapter 5 discussesbiomedical signals and how to repre-sent them. The frequency content of asignal, periodic functions, and Fourierseries are reviewed. Chapter 6 dis-cusses signal acquisition and process-ing. Topics include sampling theorem,sampling rate, and aliasing. Chapter 7discusses techniques for physiologicalsignal processing. Topics include ARmodeling, time-frequency analysis,short-time Fourier transforms, andquadratic distributions. Chapter 8contains examples of physiologicalsignal processing.

The third section of the book containsan introduction to and practical applica-tions of biomechanics. Chapter 9 is anintroduction to the principles of biome-chanics and discusses the analysis ofhuman movement, human dynamics,measurements of muscle force, electri-cal stimulation of skeletal muscle,mechanical characteristics of biologicalmaterials, bone remodeling, bodycycles, thermal regulation, andhypothermia. Chapter 10 contains a dis-cussion of some practical applicationsof biomechanics, using the principlesdeveloped in Chapter 9.

The fourth section of the book pre-sents an introduction to tissue engineer-ing. Chapter 11 covers the history oftissue engineering, materials, biologicalinteractions, and the role of cells in tis-sue engineering. Applications of tissueengineering in skin equivalents, cardio-vascular components, bone regrowth,muscle tissue, and nerve regenerationare also discussed. Chapter 12 looks atfuture developments in biomedicalengineering.

For university faculty, the book isan excellent textbook for a class.Each chapter contains numerousexamples and contains many figuresto enhance learning. References andsuggestions for further reading areincluded at the end of each chapter.Problems are included at the end ofchapters, where they will best test thestudent's knowledge.

For practicing engineers without abiomedical engineering background, thebook provides an excellent resource toexplain the many intricacies of biomed-ical engineering and provides sufficientbackground material to make the sub-ject understandable.

Richard C. Fries, PE, CREBaxter Healthcare, Inc.

Biomedical

engineering is not one

discipline but several

interacting disciplines

that coexist within the

same field.