Becoming a Biomedical Engineer

Biomedical engineering covers a range of activities, but in all cases biomedical engineers apply engineering methods and techniques for medical purposes. Areas of work in which biomedical engineers specialize include prosthetics (artificial body parts), medical imaging, the use of electronic equipment in medicine, and the application of nuclear radiation to medical diagnosis.

The Job:

Engineering is applied to medical work in so many different ways that biomedical engineers have a wide range of jobs. In hospitals, they may be working with a surgeon to make a hip joint or a neck support that meets the individual needs of a patient. Their work may encompass the calibration and maintenance of medical diagnosis equipment, including X-ray and gamma-ray equipment. Sometimes, screens are required to protect parts of the patients' body from ionizing radiation, and these must be manufactured by the engineering department. In some countries, such people are called medical physicists.

The installation and maintenance of electronic systems that monitor the heart beat and breathing of patients in a ward are sometimes under the control of biomedical engineers, who work closely with medical staff and patients.

These engineers are also employed by the manufacturers of medical equipment. There are a small number of large, international companies, as well as many small businesses, devoted to meeting medical needs. The work may be as varied as the products that are produced. Products range from catheters (which can be inserted into an artery, moved to the site of a blockage, and ballooned to enlarge the diameter) to ultrasonic and nuclear magnetic resonance machines (which are used to scan the brain or view an unborn child).

Some devices are mechanical, requiring the skills of mechanical engineers; others (and especially imaging systems) include sophisticated electronics.

Biomedical engineers work on the designs of new or modified products and oversee their development into equipment that is suitable to be mass produced. Other engineers are concerned with the production and testing of medical products, and some provide an installation and after-sales service for end-users.

Opportunities regularly arise for these engineers to work in research, either with university or college departments or medical research organizations.

Training Involved:

The training biomedical engineers receive depends on their working environment. In hospitals, they are given training where they work closely with clinicians and gain a clear understanding of patients' needs. These engineers are often sent on external courses to increase their knowledge of anatomy and physiology. This is particularly the case with those dealing with prosthetics. Engineers working on medical diagnostic equipment learn to calibrate and maintain these machines and how to use them with patients.

Industrially based biomedical engineers are trained in design, the selection of materials, product development, and production techniques. They also gain an understanding of the environment in which their products will operate and the methods used to test equipment before and after delivery to end-users. A thorough knowledge of health and safety legislation as it applies to medical products is also gained during the training period.

Training usually lasts between 2 and 4 years. During the latter part of this time, engineers are expected to take on increasing responsibility for specific parts of projects, or for the running of sub departments. Eventually, they gain the expertise and experience required to manage a team of engineers working on the development of new products.

Useful Qualifications to Have:

Useful subjects include: biology, physics, mechanical engineering, electronics, and mathematics.

Salary Expectations:

The base salary range of a Biomedical Engineer ranges from $42,078 to $69,458 annually, while the median salary for most Biomedical Engineers is $56,600 annually. (US Base Pay)

Future Prospects:

The application of engineered products and engineering techniques to medicine is a fast-growing field. Keyhole surgery, in which diagnostic and surgical equipment is inserted through a small incision in the patient, is increasingly being used to reduce recovery times after operations. Lasers are also more in evidence for such operations as those on eyes, wombs and gall bladders.

Advances in genetics are increasing our life expectancy, and as we live longer our dependence on engineered products in medicine is likely to increase as well. In short, biomedical engineering can only grow in importance and opportunities to make a career in this field should increase.

To gain entry to this career, a flexible, multidisciplinary approach is essential, since it is concerned with the interaction of many different areas of engineering with medicine, anatomy, physiology and other medically related disciplines.

For further information, contact national professional bodies representing biomedical engineers and mechanical or electronic engineers. Also contact medical research organizations and health services and trade associations representing medical equipment manufacturers, American and German companies are particularly prominent in this field.