Biomedical Engineering
Study Guide KEY
Short answer
1. What are some of the fields of science and engineering that biomedical engineering draws from?
Biology, chemistry, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, fluid mechanics, materials science

2. What are the two major subdivisions of biomedical engineering?
Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices

3. What agency regulates healthcare, and by extension biomedical engineering, in the United States?
The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA

4. What four types of products do they regulate?
Devices, drugs, biologics, and combination products

5. What are the two driving objectives for this agency?
Ensuring 1) safety and 2) efficacy of healthcare products

6. What level of education is recommended for a career as a biomedical engineer?
Graduate; a Master’s or Doctorate

For each technology listed, name the division of biomedical technology that it would best fall under:
7. A pill that corrects for an overactive gall bladder
Pharmaceuticals
8. An implant that monitors glucose levels
Implants
9. A device that shows where white blood cells are most concentrated in the body
Medical Imaging
10. Contact lenses
Medical Devices
11. An engineered bacteria that secretes insulin
Genetic Engineering
12. A flowchart showing how to diagnose vitamin A deficiency in patients
Clinical Engineering
13. A heart bypass made from a human vein
Tissue Engineering

Discussion
Biomedical engineering is a broad field that overlaps with many other disciplines. Give an example of how each of the following might be applied to biomedical engineering:
1. Chemistry
Answers will vary. Example: Designing a drug for medical use involves the chemistry of the drug’s interaction with the body’s substances.
2. Electrical Engineering
Example: Designing the circuitry for an MRI machine is electrical engineering.
3. Mechanical Engineering
Example: Analyzing how an implant will react when weight is put on it is mechanical engineering.

4. Biomedical engineering holds the promise of exciting new technologies that can help improve our quality of life. What is a problem that you would like to see solved by biomedical engineering, or, what is a biomedical product that you would like to see developed, and why?
Answers will vary. Example answer: I would like to see a portable, inexpensive device that can quantitatively assess vitamin A levels in field conditions, for use by international health workers. This is because non-governmental organizations attempting to address micronutrient deficiencies lack technologies to collect large amounts of data about micronutrient deficiencies, often relying on symptomatic observation to make a diagnosis. If they could better understand the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies in impoverished populations, they could better address the issue.

5. Biomedical engineering has given us the ability to alter ourselves and other organisms in unprecedented ways, with examples being the genetic modification of crops, the use of growth hormones in livestock, and the integration of humans with robotic prosthetics. As our capabilities increase, this raises a wide variety of ethical questions. What is an ethical issue you think may be raised by future biomedical technologies, and how do you think it would best be addressed?
Answers will vary. Example: Genetic screening technologies may soon make it possible for us to select our children before they are born, choosing what traits we find best. This raises the question of whether it is ethical to impose our preferences on our children, and further, whether it is ethical to risk the creation of a genetically inferior underclass. I feel the best way to address this issue is to ensure that a baseline service is established to which all persons have access, to minimize the degree to which they will be relatively disadvantaged. Concerning the selection of traits specifically, I believe that this is a natural extension of the childrearing process, in which we mold our children into what we think is best for them.