WHAT IS BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING Doctors and other healthcare experts improve and save people’s lives every day Biomedical engineers make their work possible Like other kinds of engineers they use math science and creative ideas to solve challenges These engineers also understand human body systems Their work helps doctors detect treat and prevent medical problems For example one kind of biomedical engineer may design an x-ray machine that shows broken bones inside bodies The bones may then be repaired with special metal pins and rods developed by a different kind of biomedical engineer EIGHT STEPS TO SUCCESS Biomedical engineers follow a design process or series of steps It makes sure new tools treatments or systems are the best and safest they can be for the people who will use them Engineers follow these steps to design build and test models The heart-lung machine is a biomedical engineering innovation When a patient’s heart and lungs are stopped during surgery this machine does their work outside of the patient’s body Steps in the design process Define the problem Identify criteria and constraints Brainstorm ideas Select a solution Build a model Improve the design Test the model 4 Communicate the solution
Scientists and engineers There is a close link between biomedical science and engineering They are not the same however Scientists study the human body and medical problems such as infectious diseases They investigate how a disease moves from person to person Their research helps engineers take action Engineers design test and build practical ways to solve problems They can develop a new tool or system to prevent a disease from spreading YUAN-CHENG FUNG Yuan-Cheng Fung was born in China In his twenties he moved to the United States to attend the California Institute of Technology He taught aircraft engineering there in the 1950s Around that time his mother developed a medical condition that causes vision loss To help her get better treatment Fung investigated her condition That led him to study other medical problems and the human body Fung left aircraft engineering and started a new field called biomechanics a science that views the body as a machine This area became one part of bioengineering Bioengineering combines engineering practices with the study of living things Biomedical engineering is also part of bioengineering It focuses on developing technologies to solve people’s health problems 5 American Yuan-Cheng Fung received the National Medal of Science in 2000 It honored his work in science and engineering
THE HUMAN BODY The human body is a system A system is a set of related parts that work together Inside the body there are smaller systems which are sometimes called subsystems The tissues and organs that make up the systems are body materials and parts formed by groups of cells A cell is the smallest functioning unit in a living thing You would need a microscope to see one Each part of the body has a function or job to do The systems they belong to must interact for the body to work properly For example your nervous system and your respiratory system work together to allow you to breathe Biomedical engineers design solutions that help the human body perform at its best See your systems work together Do you want to see your nervous muscular and skeletal systems in action First find a ruler and a friend to help you One person will grasp the top of the ruler with his or her thumb and pointer finger and hold it up in the air The other person will place his or her hand about a fist-length below the bottom of the ruler Their fingers and thumb should be ready to grip the ruler The person holding the ruler lets go of it without warning The catcher grabs it as quickly as he or she can Note the level the hand is touching Repeat all the steps Was your reaction time faster or slower the second time Change places and compare your speeds When your friend drops the ruler your eyes send a signal or message to your brain Your brain decides what to do and sends a message to your hand Your muscles and bones work together to catch the ruler They should react faster with practice 6
Circulatory system Digestive system Nervous system The function of the circulatory system is to carry blood throughout the body The heart and blood vessels belong to this system The digestive system takes in food and breaks it down for use in the body The nervous system sends messages throughout the body This information travels to and from the brain Respiratory system Muscular system Skeletal system The respiratory system brings oxygen into the body and removes carbon dioxide The lungs are an important pair of organs in this system One function of the muscular system is to move the body Tissues called tendons connect bones to the skeletal muscles Bones in the skeletal system shape and support the body This system includes ligaments which are tissues that connect bones together 7
