What is Biomedical Engineering?
The application of engineering principles and techniques to the field of medicine is biomedical engineering. This relatively new and specialized field, biomed, combines the subject expertise of engineers with that of medical practitioners to elevate patient healthcare and ensure the quality of life for other individuals. Be it designing simple instruments, diagnostic devices, imaging equipment such as MRIs and EEGs, and software or innovating new procedures and techniques, biomedical engineers employ their traditional engineering expertise to analyze and solve all of these problems.
While researching solutions to complex clinical problems related to medical care, biomeds cover service areas such as bioinformatics, medical imaging, image processing, physiological signal processing, biomechanics, biomaterials and bioengineering, systems analysis, 3-D modeling, and many other related areas.
Who Becomes a Biomed?
A biomedical engineering aspirant needs to have an engineering aptitude. In addition to this, he or she must have a thorough understanding of and appreciation for life science in order to adopt the field as a career option. Biomedical engineers usually hold degrees from recognized universities. Salaries range from $75,000 to $150,000 or more per year.
A biomedical engineer will have to utilize engineering skills to solve health-related and medical problems. These skills will help him or her develop a base for designing state-of-the-art clinical and medical equipment and laboratory devices like artificial hearts, pacemakers, dialysis machines, and surgical lasers. In their line of work, biomedical engineers will have to interact with other people such as life scientists, chemists, and medical professionals. Engineers are also qualified to oversee the technicians who maintain biomedical equipment and repair equipment failures, as well as to counsel hospices about the installation and benefits of new equipment in the market.
Contrary to common belief, a biomedical engineer's job profile goes beyond the realm of regular checking of medical equipment. Being skillful scientists, biomedical engineers are the only qualified people in hospitals who know both the engineering and the application methods of medical equipment. From carrying out routine performance-assurance inspections as part of maintenance, calibration, safety testing, and corrective maintenance to creating revolutionized devices and equipments like the artificial heart and prosthetics, biomedical engineers do it all.
Career Prospects for Biomeds
The U.S. healthcare industry already employs more than 10% of the national workforce, or more than 15 million people. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' projections, around four million new healthcare jobs will be created by 2014. This data makes the future career prospects of biomedical engineers look bright. Biomeds' in-depth understandings of living systems and technology will ensure that biomed careers will never be scarce for professionally qualified people.
