http://www.rit.edu/kgcoe/biomedical

Program overview

Educational objectives

The bachelor of science degree in biomedical engineering prepares graduates to:

• apply fundamental knowledge, skills, and tools of engineering in a wide variety of biomedical application domains.
• possess a broad education and knowledge of contemporary issues relevant to the practice of the biomedical engineering profession.
• engage in lifelong learning as a means of adapting to change, refining skill level, and remaining aware of professional and societal issues.
• communicate effectively as individuals, and within and across teams.
• accept the professional and ethical responsibilities to function as a biomedical engineer in society.
• work as engineering professionals in the private or public sector.
• enter graduate education programs and obtain advanced degrees if desired.

Biomedical engineers are intimately involved in the development of devices and techniques to address health-state issues. Such development is inherently a multidisciplinary endeavor requiring expertise from a wide range of professionals, and in particular engineers from the classical disciplines such as chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineering. This is true whether in industrial, research, or clinical settings. A fully successful multidisciplinary team must have at least one member who possesses a comprehensive understanding of the highly variable and intricate nature of the biomedical system of interest. This team member must possess the quantitative and analytical engineering skills needed to precisely define the challenge that is being addressed and assess the relative effectiveness of plausible solution strategies. This crucial role can be performed effectively by a biomedical engineer expressly educated to meet those requirements and qualifications.

The BS degree in biomedical engineering delivers a focused curriculum that targets the biomedical enterprise from a highly quantitative and analytically rigorous perspective. The goal is to enable participants to compete successfully for engineering-related positions immediately upon graduation or to pursue post-graduate education in engineering, science, or medicine. Undergraduates will have the ability to contribute significantly to the development of new knowledge, understanding, and innovative solutions in the health care industry and across a wide variety of health care related research applications.

Curriculum

Biomedical engineering is a five-year program consisting of 50 weeks of cooperative employment experience and the following course requirements: biomedical engineering core (74 quarter credit hours), professional technical electives (12 quarter credit hours), science and mathematics (62 quarter credit hours), liberal arts (36 quarter credit hours), free electives (12 quarter credit hours), wellness education (0 quarter credit hours), and First-Year Enrichment (2 quarter credit hours). The program culminates in the fifth year with a two-course multidisciplinary design sequence, a capstone design experience that integrates engineering theory, principles, and processes within a collaborative environment that bridges engineering disciplines.

Concentrations

Biomedical device and system design

Students will develop the ability to propose and assess innovative ideas and understand the type of analysis and assessment tools that are key elements in the process of developing robust designs. Constraints on such designs are safe and efficient devices, systems, and processes for biomedical applications. This represents a need in industrial, research, and clinical environments, and includes therapeutic, rehabilitative, and research-oriented developments.

Biomedical signal processing

Biological systems are inherently complex and are composed of processes, mechanisms, and phenomena that interact, often in parallel and across a wide range of scales and environments. The ability to determine key aspects of those systems for biomedical applications requires a rigorous and in-depth capability to detect, process, and interpret signals that can be extracted and measured, often in the midst of noise and confounding information. Producing reliable information that can be used to assess or understand those systems requires careful processing and interpretation of available signals.

Physiological modeling, dynamics, and control

Homeostasis is fundamentally a feedback process. Generally, biological systems contain a myriad of interrelated and interacting feedback systems that are inherently non-deterministic in nature and usually have a variety of optimal or satisfactory operating points. If the goal of a therapeutic or rehabilitative system or intervention is to predict the outcome of some intended action, then it becomes essential to accurately model the behavior of the relevant characteristics of the targeted system. This type of analysis can be used to support fundamental research as well as help provide guidance to develop a new device or system. A concentration in this area builds on the core elements of the curriculum as well as an understanding, from a systems perspective, of human physiology.

Biomaterials

An important feature of materials intended for biomedical applications is their compatibility with the environment in which they are employed. This presumes a solid knowledge and understanding of a wide variety of biologically compatible materials. Similarly, the dynamic behavior of the materials in response to stress, strain, and wear must often be assessed in terms of efficacy, safety, and durability. Useful and rigorous modeling, as well as the design and evaluation of material performance, requires a strong foundation in physics, chemistry, and mathematics (including statistics) along with an understanding of appropriate and accurate analysis methods. Courses for this type of work are provided in the core curriculum of the program. However, electives that provide additional expertise in this area (e.g.: material science, probability and statistics, chemistry and chemical engineering) may be obtained by selecting the biomaterials concentration.