Can engineers and clinicians work together in 2009....?
Biomedical Engineering comprises many technical disciplines including mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science and mathematics. Often innovations are driven by these disciplines. But how can technological advances benefit the treatment, health and well-being of the public?
Of course, engagement with clinicians and the health professionals is vital.
Significant scientific advances such as the cardiac defibrillator and artificial implants (such as hips and knees) have been pioneered by clinicians in cooperation with the engineering scientists.
However, nowadays scientific conferences in biomedical engineering are usually dominated by the engineering professions.
Is biomedical engineering still relevant to clinicians in an age where genomics and biomedical informatics dominate the scientific agenda?
Medics still need other Biomedical Engineering fields. Research on new fields is necessary, but will lead to practical solutions over 50 years. So they will need applied research results.
ReplyDeleteIt is in fact relevant. Even in fields were we have good solutions today like trauma surgery things will be more complex in the future due to a shift towards older people. We need new approaches to face the problems and this involves also analytical and theoretical engineering work.
ReplyDelete