Program Director

Overview

Biomedical engineering (BME) is the application of engineering principles to solve problems faced in health care through the creation and improvement of medical devices and systems. The focus of the BME program at MSOE is to prepare students for the medical device industry or graduate study in BME and related fields. This is achieved with a curriculum that provides foundations in classical engineering disciplines including electrical and mechanical engineering, as well as biological sciences and computer programming. After completing the first year in the curriculum, students choose to follow the general path or the artificial intelligence (AI) path. Both paths provide foundations across the subdisciplines of biomedical engineering, including biomechanics, bioinstrumentation, biotransport, medical imaging and biomedical control systems. The AI path includes a series of courses that further prepares students to pursue career paths involving the emerging areas of data science, machine learning and AI in the medical device industry and biomedical research.

Through extensive hands-on laboratory exercises and real-world projects throughout the curriculum, all students gain highly sought-after skills for industry, including incorporation of microcontrollers and transducers, prototyping and testing, and medical device regulation. Students must fully address the medical device development process in their capstone senior design project, including thorough consideration of problem definition and customer needs, medical device market strategies, standards, and regulatory considerations. In addition to traditional BME careers, program graduates have chosen career paths in medicine, law, sports and auto safety biomechanics, and medical device regulatory compliance. Regular academic advising with experienced faculty, internship elective options, and program connections with alumni in diverse industries allow students to customize their education and gain experiences to pursue the career path of their choice in a high demand field.

Program Educational Objectives

The objective of this program is for graduates to attain, early in their careers, the ability to demonstrate leadership, teamwork, and readiness to contribute to diverse teams and lead with an inclusive mindset, as well as apply knowledge and practical experience to independently solve challenging problems in a variety of career paths, including:

• Professional careers in the biomedical or related engineering fields,
• Graduate study or degrees in biomedical engineering or related engineering or science fields, or
• Other related professional endeavors such as education or practice in law, medicine, business, or other fields.

Student Outcomes

Graduates of the biomedical engineering program, at the time of graduation, will have:

1. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
2. an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
3. an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
4. an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
5. an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
6. an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
7. an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies

The Biomedical Engineering (BS) program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, under the commission’s General Criteria and Program Criteria for Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering.

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