FEE X

ENGINEERINGIN MEDICINEAND BIOLOGY

1 ZE \laiJlAl NJVEER3 SEPTEMBERW

Biomedicalengineering EEducation?

Researchers look at undergraduatebiomedical engineering education

By JANET L. WHITE, DuPont Company, Wilmington, Delaware|and ROBERT PLONSEY, Case Western Reserve, Cleveland, Ohio

U ndergraduate biomedical engineering programs began to be competent in all of the above areas. This combined program||develop in the early 197Qs, and students have accepted raises some questions. First, can enough biology be included to

them readily. But because biomedical engineering is still provide a functional grasp of the subject? And second, if the firstan emerging discipline, several questions have arisen that chal- question's answer is yes, will the engineering training remain rig-lenge the focus of these programs. BME professionals use their orous enough to prepare the student in the fundamental con-knowledge and training in engineering to solve practical prob- cepts?lems in areas that range from basic life science research to de- A study of undergraduate biomedical engineering educationvelopment of hospital instrumentation, from artificial kidney de- was done during the 1980-1981 academic year to help answersign and computerization of medical records to simulation of these questions. The researchers (White and Plonsey) found thatphysiological systems. Their jobs are in academia, consultation, in typical programs enough life science courses are taught forindustry, and government, both students who go on for more education and for those whoBiomedical engineering education combines technology and do not. There is also enough engineering training to produce

life science in one program to produce qualified BMEs who can qualified engineers. The study's results convinced the authors ofthis article that biomedical engineering education is worthwhile.

Abstracted from "Does Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering These questions are important in assessing the quality of bi-Education Produce Real Engineers?" by Janet L. White and Rob- omedical engineering programs. Students earning a bachelor'sert Plonsey. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Vol- degree in BME have several options for their future. Some takeume BME-29, Number 5, May 1982, pages 374-378. © 1982 IEEE. jobs in industry or government in or out of their fields. Others go |

ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 1982 9

to engineering graduate school, medical school, or other profes- cluding all computer work), technical electives, and free elec-sional training. The degree to which engineering and life science tives. Since the semester-hour system (one hour per week of in-is emphasized in the curriculum depends on the goal of the pro- struction for a semester is considered to be one semester-hourgram and the desire of the student. credit) is most common, all other systems were converted to thisThis study answered the above questions by determining the standard. Both biomedical and electrical engineering were bro-

relative amounts of engineering and life science training in exist- ken down into categories for the sake of comparison.ing undergraduate biomedical engineering programs and by con- The course catalogs contain ambiguities about the actual na-trasting the courses of study with an older engineering discipline ture of required engineering courses. Some of the biomedical en-(electrical engineering). The study also assesses the goals of gineering course descriptions appeared to be primarily technical,BME programs to determine the correlation between purpose while others seemed to deal mostly with biological systems. An-and curriculum. other unknown was the usual choice of technical and free elec-

tives that students make, if they do not choose randomly. A pro-Methods gram in which all electives are invariably taken in the arts wouldThe assessment of undergraduate education began with an ex- have a different focus from one in which the electives are used to

amination of course catalogs from 36 schools that were believed fulfill a second major or minor in another engineering discipline.to offer an undergraduate BME program, either as a separate de- A short questionnaire was prepared to answer these questionspartment or as an established option in another engineering dis- and to ask for the postgraduation plans of students. The re-cipline. The universities and colleges studied either were listed searchers hoped that the additional information could show thein a recent report by Potvin et al.,1 or were known to the authors true goals of each program. The questionnaire (see Appendix)as having such a program. Out of the original 36 schools, 29 pro- was sent with a cover letter and a self-addressed, stamped enve-vided enough data to be used in this study. These institutions lope to the chairman of biomedical engineering at each of the 29are listed in Table 1. schools listed in Table 1. Seventeen of the surveys were returnedTo determine the nature of the programs, the curriculum from in time to be used in the results. The information was tabulated

each school was broken down by credit hour into seven catego- and analyzed and the data were interpreted.ries: social science and humanities, mathematics, life science,other science, basic and advanced courses in engineering (in- Results

Table 11 presents data taken from the course catalogs of all 29universities. It shows information from both BME and electricalengineering curricula. No attempt was made to further assign ei-

Table I ther technical or free electives to any of the other categories inList of institutions with biomedical engineering which they may actually fall in this part of the study because the

programs included in study current assignments show relevant data by themselves. Also,within the BME curriculum, the researchers made no distinction

Boston University Tulane University between biomedical engineering courses and other types of en-Brown University University of BridgeportcaBirowniastateUniversity , Universityot Bridgeportishcol gineering to avoid dealing with ambiguous titles and course de-California State University, University of British Columbia-Long Beach ^ University of California at scriptions. For example, a course entitled "Statistical and Com-

Carnegie-Mellon University Berkeley putational Methods in Data Analysis" could be placed in theCase Western Reserve University University of Illinois atDukeUniversity* ChicagoCircle* engineering category, but since it is taught in a biomedical engi-Louisiana Technical University Universityof Iowa neering department, it would also qualify for a BME designation.MarquettecUniversity University of Miami Table 11 reveals that the amounts of social science and human-

MississippigStanTehno University UniversityofNwMehicn ities (SS-H), mathematics, and natural science that students takeMississippi State University University of New Mexico .

Northwestern University University of Pennsylvania in biomedical engineering differ only slightly from those taken byPurdue University University of Rhode Island EE students. For both, a rough average of 22 semester hours areRensselaer Polytechnic,institute University of Southern California^ spent in either social science or humanities, while approximatelySyracuse University Vanderbilt UniversityTexas A & M University Western New England College 17 hours are devoted to mathematics and 16 are spent on natural

science. Although the institutions range in value considerably,Responded to survey in time to be useful for this study. especially in the social sciences and humanities, the relatively

small standard deviations (about 6.0 hours for SS-H) show that

Table IIStatistical data on composition of BME and EE curricula (credit hours)

Social science Technical Free Total creditand humanities Mathematics Natural science Life science Engineering electives electives hours

BME

Mean 21.6 17.0 16.3 11.9 50.5 7.8 5.7 130.9Standard deviation 6.0 2.8 3.6 5.9 13.2 9.6 6.3 5.8Range 3-31 9-22 8-23 0-23 29-76 0-38 0-20 119-144Percentage 16.5 13.0 12.5 9.1 38.5 5.9 4.4-

EE

Mean 21.7 17.2 16.1 0 58.5 7.5 8.9 129.9Standard deviation 6.8 2.3 2.8 0 10.4 7.0 8.9 4.9Range 3-33 14-25 9-21 0 38-76 0-22 0-28 120-142Percentage 16.7 13.2 12.4 0 45.1 5.8 6.8-

10 ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 1982

most schools are within, at most, two courses of the average inall three categories and within one course for mathematics and Table IIInatural science. t al adiThe average BME and EE curricula differ in the other divisions Relative amounts of technical and biological content in

and also slightly in the total number of semester hours. BME pro- required engineering courses in the BME curriculumgrams average almost 131 semester credits, while the average Percentage Percentagefor EE is not quite 130 hours. This slightly affects the percentage technical biologicalof time spent in each subject, so it is more valuable to comparesemester hours than time percentages. The largest discrepancy Marquette University 60 40occurs at the University of Rhode Island which requires 10 more Michigan Technological University 60 40

occurs ~equies Syracuse University 65 35credit hours for BME than for EE. Where differences occur, there Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 68.5 31.5are usually more required credits for the BME curriculum than for Universityof Pennsylvania 75 25electrical engineering. Brown University 80 20

Case Western Reserve University 80 20Almost every university surveyed has a life sciences require- Tulane University 86 14

ment for a major in biomedical engineering. The average is about California State University 90 1012 credits (or three courses) although the programs range from Purdue University 90 10

UniversityoftNew Mexico 90 10zero to 20 hours. The electrical engineering programs have no Duke University 95 5corresponding requirement. This difference is partially a function University of California at Berkeley 100 0

of the number of hours spent in engineering courses, an average Universityof Rhode Island 100 0of 50 for BME and 58 for EE. If the eight additional hours that an Mean 81.4 18.6electrical engineering student uses for engineering courses areconsidered to be traded for course work taken in the life sci- -ences by the BME, ther a quantitative distinction in the BME ver-sus EE curriculum begins to emerge. Another four semester IV, the mean number of semester hours for each subject from thehours for the rest of the life science requirement must originate 14 schools is calculated. This information is very similar to thefrom another category. The statistics in Table II show that the averages from all 29 colleges, so these 14 institutions are consid-amount of free electives available to students of the two disci- ered to be representative. The next row in Table IV contains theplines differ considerably. BME undergraduates have an average mean number of semester hours for each subject, but this timeof about six hours, while EEs are allowed about nine hours of adjusted by the average percentage of engineering courses thatfree electives. Technical electives are similar in number, with al- are "purely" technical and the average that is truly biological inmost eight hours allowed in both BME and EE. nature. For example, the BME program has an average of 49.9 se-The biological sciences take about 9.1 percent of the average mester hours of engineering courses. However, 18.6 percent of

biomedical engineering student's time. These courses are taken those courses deal primarily with the life sciences, so that 18.6at the expense of the engineering courses and free electives. The percent of 49.9 hours, or 9.3 hours, belong in the life science cat-total number of semester hours also increases slightly over the egory, with a corresponding reduction in the engineering divi-average electrical engineering program. Essentially, the BME sion. This increases the life sciences' average to 19.7 hours andstudent takes two fewer courses in engineering and has one less decreases the engineering average to 40.6 hours. All other cat-elective in order to fulfill the life science requirement. egories are unaffected by this assignment.Because some biomedical engineering courses could contain Another question in the survey asked what types of electives

more life science and biology than engineering, a further distinc- students chose for both technical and free electives. The semes-tion is possible. So the survey also asked the department chair- ter hours in each subject were then reassigned according to themen to estimate percentages of required engineering courses data provided and the averages were again calculated. The finalthat "deal primarily with technical (mathematical or so-called tra- set of information in Table IV reflects this and the technical/ditional) subjects and those that deal primarily with biological biological reassignment, so that these averages can be viewedsystems." The results from the 14 institutions that answered this as a general model of a biomedical engineering program showingquestion are in Table 1II. The technical percentages range from an approximate number of semester hours spent in each subject60 to 100 percent, with an average of 81.4 percent. Correspon- area, appropriate for comparison with the electrical engineeringdingly, the biological percentages range from 0 to 40 percent, av- data. With the information available, it was not possible to as-eraging 18.6. sign all electives, although the survey corrected some of theThis information is used to reassign the subject breakdown of course catalog results.

the biomedical engineering programs. First, as shown in Table

Table IVAdjustments to biomedical engineering curriculum

data from survey information (credit hours)

a) Social sciences c) Natural d) Life f) Technical g) Free h) Totaland humanities b) Mathematics science science e) Engineering electives electives credit hours.

Mean 19.8 17.0 17.0 10.4 49.8 8.1 7.9 130.1Nonadjusted data trom institutions that replied to survey.

Mean 19.8 17.0 17.0 19.7 40.6 8.1 7.9 130.1Adjusted data: Engineering category broken down into technical (engineering) and lite science.

Mean 19.8 17.2 17.2 21.5 48.3 2.4 3.7 130.1Percentage 15.2 13.2 13.2 16.5 37.1 1.8 2.8-Adjusted data: Electives assigned wherever possible.

ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 1982 11

The final tallyThis is the final BME tally: social science and humanities, ap- Table V

proximately 20 hours; both mathematics and natural science, a eabout 17 hours; life sciences, 21 hours; engineering, 48 hours;technical electives, about 2 hours; and free electives, about 4hours. Table V gives the averages for the EE curricula at the a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h)same 14 schools and shows that even with adjustments and fine Mean 20.3 16.6 16.5 0 59.3 4.9 11.6 129.1

Percentage 15.7 12.9 12.8 0 45.9 3.8 9.0 -

tuning from the survey, the same patterns emerge. That is, socialscience and humanities, mathematics, and natural science inboth biomedical and electrical engineering require about thesame number of semester hours, while the life science require-ment in BME is filled through a reduction in engineering courses,technical and free electives, and a slight increase in the total Table VInumber of semester hours necessary for graduation. Comparison of engineering course content and numberTable VI is a result of a question on the survey about the per- of students seeking employment

centages of students interested in immediate employment. Thedata are compared to the percentage of the required engineering Percentage of Percentagecourses that are mainly technical. For simplicity, the population technical of studentsis roughly broken down into two groups. The first, those respon- engineering seekingdents with relatively low engineering subject content, has a courses employment +range of job-hunting students from 0 to 45 percent. The second Marquette University 60 41group is more technical and correspondingly has a range of em- Michigan Technological University 60 5ployment-seekers from 33 to 99 percent. Therefore, some Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute65RensslaerPolytchni Insttute68.5 15relationship apparently exists between the purpose of the pro- Universityof Pennsylvania 75 20gram and the content of its curriculum. The more students who Brown University 80 40end their formal education upon graduation, the more technical CaseWesternReserveUniversity 80 45

and rigorous the engineering program. Another result is that in Mean 69.8 23.713 of the 17 schools returning the survey, students are reported Tulane University 86 40to double major and/or minor in another subject. Electrical engi- California State University 90 80neering is the most common choice, with mechanical engi- Purdue University 90 80neering and computer science also popular. University of New Mexico 90 50

Duke University 95 33University of California at Berkeley 10055

Discussion University of Rhode Island 100 90The information this study presents about undergraduate bi- Mean 91.6 61.1

omedical engineering education has not previously been com-piled. The conclusions set forth earlier in this article and those Out of required engineering courses only.that follow here should be used with some caution because any +Students seeking employment include all those who plan no further for-survey of this kind has inherent weaknesses. First, a study of av- maleducationinthenearfuture.erages and typical programs generally has limited meaning foran individual student. In fact, even individual institutions mustevaluate their programs, not only in terms of general engineering medical training. And, for those candidates who are not acceptedstandards, but also in terms of what makes sense for their partic- into medical school, their solid preparation in engineering is use-ular setting. A small private school must evaluate its needs in a ful in job hunting or further education. Students seeking jobs asdifferent light than, for example, a large state university or tech- biomedical engineers need biological background as a contextnical institute. for their engineering abilities. As an electrical engineering pro-Another factor in this study is related to the data compiled fessor stated: "Life sciences are as important to the biomedical

from the second question in the questionnaire, which is based engineer as steel structures are to a civil engineer."3 However, aton the opinions of department chairmen. Although they generally the undergraduate level, depth of knowledge in this area is not ashave a good "feel" for trends at their particular colleges, they important as breadth. The ability to converse with physicians andwere asked to provide numerical data that change from year to understand the principles of human physiology is more criticalyear. So this information should be considered only as a reasona- than a descriptive and qualitative knowledge of life systems. Theble and informed estimate. BME undergraduate, by taking a life science sequence orientedAs an estimate, however, it does have validity as a model of an to the mechanics of biological systems, is able to obtain the

average undergraduate biomedical engineering program. It needed life science background without sacrificing the rigor ofshows that in terms of subject breakdown, biomedical engi- quantitative analysis associated with other engineering fields.neering does not differ greatly from the electrical engineering A critic of BME programs suggests the time students spendfield. Furthermore, there is some indication that the content of taking the life science requirement deprives them of "the oppor-the BME curriculum varies according to the goals of the partic- tunity of applying a unique developmental learning period to rig-ular program and/or student. These lead to the conclusions al- orous, quantitative material in the mathematical, physical, andready stated and some more detailed ones. (The data speaks for engineering sciences.'4 The authors of this article contend theitself; the reader may wish to draw other conclusions.) opposite is true, that the inclusion of life science courses can

First, the amount of life science included in biomedical engi- only enhance the problem-solving capability that all types of un-neering appears to be adequate enough to provide for the needs dergraduate engineering institutions strive to impart to their stu-both of students who do not desire further education and those dents. Modeling a human body in quantitative terms requires awho do. Premedical students can easily fulfill medical school re- background of life science concepts as well as engineering train-quirements in most BME programs. Also, although one critic has ing, and can be as rigorous and quantitative as any other study instated that they do, the BME programs make no pretensions of mathematics, physics, and engineering science.taking on the function of the preclinical years of an M.D. degree.2 The second conclusion is that there is indeed enough trainingRather, the program is flexible enough to prepare the student for in engineering principles to produce highly qualified engineers.

12 ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 1982

The technical requirements for the BME are not far different fromthose for an EE. Besides that, a number of students choose theirelectives to fulfill a second major or a minor in a traditional engi- Appendixneering field. This suggests that, if students view the BME pro- Survey sent to department chairmengram as inadequate for their needs, most programs allow enough 1. Estimate the percentage of your BME students who grad-flexibility to overcome any perceived deficiencies. As noted ear-lier, this paper can only deal statistically with engineering pro- uateintoeachofthefollowingcategories:grams so that conclusions regarding individual students will alsodepend on individual talents and capabilities. The biomedical en- Employment %gineering programs included in this study vary enough to accom- Medical School _ _ __lmodate the premedical student, the student interested in engi- Other (specify) %neering graduate school, and the undergraduate seeking em-ployment.The third and final determination by the authors is, as men- 2. Specifically for students who plan to seek immediate em-

tioned before, that undergraduate biomedical engineering educa- ployment, do you notice any trends'towardtion is both valid and desirable. The application of principles ofscience and engineering to biology and medicine is substantially Double Majoring? Yes Nodifferent from other engineering fields to warrant a specialized If "Yesorin what subject(s)9 No l

3. For required engineering courses in the BME curriculum, es-timate the percentage that deal primarily with technical (math-ematical or so-called "traditional") subjects and those that dealprimarily with biological systems.

Percentage technical %Percentage biological %

Even if students vi evv the (Both percentages out of required engineering courses only)4. What kinds of electives are normally chosen by BME stu-

BME program as inadequate dents?for their needs, most Socialfor thei r needs,most tscience/ Life Other Other

programs allow enough humanities Math science science BME engineering

flexibility to overcome any electives ____perceived deficiencies. Technical

electives*

discipline. It is the successful integration of continually evolving *Fill out this row only if your curriculum makes a distinctiontechnology and ever-changing life science parameters that lends between free electives and technical (and/or engineering) elec-uniqueness to biomedical engineering. Biomedical engineering, tives.like any other engineering discipline, consists of a core of knowl-edge that can be taught successfully at the undergraduate level. School name_Although the content of the curriculm should take into consider-ation the goals of the BME program, training at the undergrad- Your nameuate level is desirable for many types of students, including the lpremedical, pregraduate school, and employment-seeking stu-dents. O

References:1. Potvin, AR, FM Long, JG Webster, and RJ Jendrucko: Biomedical engineering edu-

cation: Enrollment, courses, degrees, and employment. IEEE Transactions on Biomedi-cal Engineering. Volume BME-28, pp. 22-27, January 1981.

2. Mann, RW. MIT, Division Newsletter. American Society Engineering Education,Fall 1980.

3. George, RT, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.4. Mann.

ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 1982 13