Examples of Specific Activities
Work done by biomedical engineers may include a wide range of activities such as:
* Artificial organs (hearing aids, cardiac pacemakers, artificial kidneys and hearts, blood oxygenators, synthetic blood vessels, joints, arms, and legs).
* Automated patient monitoring (during surgery or in intensive care, healthy persons in unusual environments, such as astronauts in space or underwater divers at great depth).
* Blood chemistry sensors (potassium, sodium, O2, CO2, and pH).
* Advanced therapeutic and surgical devices (laser system for eye surgery, automated delivery of insulin, etc.).
* Application of expert systems and artificial intelligence to clinical decision making (computer-based systems for diagnosing diseases).
* Design of optimal clinical laboratories (computerized analyzer for blood samples, cardiac catheterization laboratory, etc.).
* Medical imaging systems (ultrasound, computer assisted tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, etc.).
* Computer modeling of physiologic systems (blood pressure control, renal function, visual and auditory nervous circuits, etc.).
* Biomaterials design (mechanical, transport and biocompatibility properties of implantable artificial materials).
* Biomechanics of injury and wound healing (gait analysis, application of growth factors, etc.).
* Sports medicine (rehabilitation, external support devices, etc.).