Studying at York
Biomedical Engineering - ELE00065H
- Department: Electronic Engineering
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: H
- Academic year of delivery: 2022-23
Module summary
The module aims to equip students with foundational knowledge and skills of engineering in medical and clinical applications. The range of medical applications is very broad, so the module will aim to convey the general constraints of the health sector then give state-of-the-art in-depth knowledge in selected areas like Biomedical device development, biomaterials, bio manufacturing, human anatomy, biology of cancer. This module is constituted of a wide range of topics that aim to familiarise students with the engineering fields as well as medical sciences and how they can be applied together to develop better healthcare technologies and equipment. Those topics will be combined to realise in practice devices with biomedical focus, for example, sensors for measuring blood pressure and pulse oximetry, instruments for cancer treatment, and robotic technologies for surgeries and rehabilitation.
Learning will be achieved through case studies, exercises, models, and laboratory exercises.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Autumn Term 2022-23 |
Module aims
Subject content aims:
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Introduce the interface between engineering and medicine at the biological level.
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Develop understanding of the clinical need and its representation as Engineering specifications. Articulate how and why the biomedical system design engineering approach can address many of the needs.
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Provide practical aspects of subject knowledge required for developing biomedical engineering knowledge, including: electronics, control theory, microcontrollers, MATLAB programming, biomedical device development, biomaterials, bio manufacturing, human anatomy, biology of cancer.
Graduate skills aims:
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Introduce biomedical device (surgical instrument and diagnostic devices) development process, involving subject knowledge from electronics, control theory, microcontrollers, MATLAB programming, machine design etc.
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Introduce Biomaterials and Bio fabrication (additive manufacturing, quality assurance of medical devices). Integration of tissue engineering and bioreactors into biomedical engineering.
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Introduction to human anatomy, biology of cancer, its prognosis in the human body.
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Provide a platform for students to improve their skills by developing more complicated systems and experimenting with more advanced control paradigms.
Module learning outcomes
Subject content learning outcomes
After successful completion of this module, students will:
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Understand and apply engineering principles that govern the principal human body coordinating and integrating systems.
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Be able to describe techniques for modern biomedical devices for surgical, diagnostic and rehabilitation applications.
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Have developed an integrated understanding of basic anatomy and bioelectrical activities in the heart and brain, as well as in the level of muscles, neurons, and cell membranes
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Be able to critically evaluate physiological signals, their production, characteristics, and propagation and be able to critically evaluate the passage and effects of electric current through the human body.
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Be able to critically evaluate the various methods medical devices use to collect, process, store, and transfer data
Graduate skills learning outcomes
After successful completion of this module, students will:
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Understand and applythe methodology of biomedical device development and gain an understanding of how to sense and influence the biomedical environment.
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Learn about the different types of biomaterials and utilise additive manufacturing methods of fabricating them for medical applications.
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Learn about physiological changes from the interaction of discrete biomedical instruments and the human body.
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Have been introduced to the engineering skill sets (electronics, programming, machine designing etc.) and gained knowledge of how these skills contribute towards biomedical device development.
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Develop ability to translate design goals into a circuit schematic and understanding of the interaction of hardware and software.
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Understand and apply the design-for-safety concept and learn about the impact of design failures on the safety of the product.
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Gain experience of building a working prototype of a medical instrument with a clinical application.
Professional Skills
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Laboratory practice: Students will be expected to follow good laboratory practice procedures.
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Health and safety: Students will be introduced to health and safety in the wider context including relevant legislation as it affects product development.
Graduate skills
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Teamwork: Students will be introduced to the need to establish communications, coordination and control mechanisms within their group to help deliver efficiently and effectively. The groups will be guided in the establishment of these by their academic supervisor. They will be expected to describe their approach and any problems they encountered in their individual report.
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Research: Students will determine the research needs for their project and seek out appropriate resources. They will be expected to maintain accurate and professional records of their research and report it through accurate and full referencing.
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Communication: Students will be expected to document the work undertaken in their project to a professional standard, producing appropriate information for technical and non-technical audiences. Examples of technical information include specifications, test reports, etc. Examples of non-technical information include user manuals, etc.
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Ethics: Groups will be expected to decide, in conjunction with their group academic supervisor, what ethical approval is required and then produce and gain appropriate approval for it.
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Project management: Students will be introduced to formal project management tools and required to produce a planned and managed project plan.
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Meetings & meetings management: Students will be expected to record their weekly meetings and track actions allocated. They will be introduced to the concept of Design Reviews and be expected to hold them as part of the project.
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Risk management: Students will be introduced to risk management as a manageable activity, including how to quantify risks and use a risk register as a tool to manage risks. They will produce a risk register for their project.
- Time management: Students will be responsible for their own time management and will be expected to write a reflective critique of their time management in the individual section of their project report.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 50 |
| Oral presentation/seminar/exam | 50 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
BRIEFING
The Department of Electronic Engineering aims to provide some form of feedback on all formative and summative assessments that are carried out during the degree programme. In general, feedback on any written work/assignments undertaken will be sufficient so as to indicate the nature of the changes needed in order to improve the work. Students are provided with their examination results within 25 working days of the end of any given examination period. The Department will also endeavour to return all coursework feedback within 25 working days of the submission deadline. The Department would normally expect to adhere to the times given, however, it is possible that exceptional circumstances may delay feedback. The Department will endeavour to keep such delays to a minimum. Please note that any marks released are subject to ratification by the Board of Examiners and Senate. Meetings at the start/end of each term provide you with an opportunity to discuss and reflect with your supervisor on your overall performance to date.
Formative Feedback
Regular lectures, workshop and lab sessions will help students to engage with concepts of biomedical engineering. Project reports and associated presentations will help students to develop problem solving, critical analysis and public speaking skills.
Opportunities for obtaining formative feedback include lab work with spoken feedback and problem-solving, help during lab demonstrations, speaking about assignment plans with academics, revision sessions and workshops, and pre-presentation briefing sessions.
Summative Feedback
Exams: Marks are produced within the standard university mark period, and the marks posted on eVision. It is possible to register for an exam script viewing session. Examiners also give qualitative feedback to the cohort via the Wiki following the exam board.
Coursework: Weekly lectures followed by individual/group project demonstrations will help students to gain feedback on understanding the key module material covered in the lectures. Emails to the Module Coordinator with Questions / Comments will be answered as soon as possible.
Indicative reading
Guidance for healthcare and social services organisations on managing medical devices in practice. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-medicaldevices
Brown, B.H., Smallwood, R.H., Barber, D.C., Lawford, P.V. and Hose, D.R. (1999) Medical physics and biomedical engineering. St Louis: Turtleback Books.
Ratner, B.D., Hoffman, A.S., Schoen, F.J. and Lemons, J.E. (2012) Biomaterials science: an introduction to materials in medicine. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Academic Press.
Biomaterials: The Intersection of Biology and Materials Science Hardcover – Illustrated, 5 Feb. 2008 by Johnna Temenoff (Author), Antonios Mikos (Author)
Biomedical Engineering: Bridging Medicine and Technology (Cambridge Texts in Biomedical Engineering) Hardcover – 21 May 2015 by W. Mark Saltzman
Biomedical Engineering Fundamentals (The Biomedical Engineering Handbook, Fourth Edition) Paperback – 26 Feb. 2018 by Joseph D. Bronzino (Author), Donald R. Peterson (Author)