Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare applications. BME is also traditionally logical sciences to advance health care treatment, including diagnosis, monitoring, and therapy. Also included under the scope of a biomedical engineer is the management of current medical equipment in hospitals while adhering to relevant industry standards. This involves procurement, routine testing, preventive maintenance, and making equipment recommendations, a role also known as a Biomedical Equipment Technician (BMET) or as a clinical engineer.
The Pratt School of Engineering is located at Duke University in the United States. The school's associated research, education, alumni and service-to-society efforts are collectively known as Duke Engineering.
The Federal University of Technology Akure is a federal government-owned university located in Akure, Ondo State, in South Western Nigeria. It was founded in 1981 driven by the federal government of Nigeria to create universities that specialized in producing graduates with practical as well as theoretical knowledge of technologies.
A biomedical engineering/equipment technician/technologist or biomedical engineering/equipment specialist is typically an electro-mechanical technician or technologist who ensures that medical equipment is well-maintained, properly configured, and safely functional. In healthcare environments, BMETs often work with or officiate as a biomedical and/or clinical engineer, since the career field has no legal distinction between engineers and engineering technicians/technologists.
The Duke University School of Medicine, commonly known as Duke Med, is the medical school of Duke University. It was established in 1925 by James B. Duke.
Medical equipment management is a term for the professionals who manage operations, analyze and improve utilization and safety, and support servicing healthcare technology. These healthcare technology managers are, much like other healthcare professionals referred to by various specialty or organizational hierarchy names.
Banu Onaral is the H.H. Sun Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Robert Plonsey was the Pfizer-Pratt University Professor Emeritus of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. He is noted for his work on bioelectricity.
Engineering World Health (EWH) is a non-profit organization that works with hospitals and clinics that serve resource-poor communities of the developing world. EWH's focus is on the repair and maintenance of medical equipment - rather than donation - and on building local capacity to manage and maintain the equipment without international aid.
Thelma Estrin was an American computer scientist and engineer who did pioneering work in the fields of expert systems and biomedical engineering. Estrin was one of the first to apply computer technology to healthcare and medical research. In 1954, Estrin helped to design the Weizmann Automatic Computer, or WEIZAC, the first computer in Israel and the Middle East, a moment marked as an IEEE Milestone in Electrical and Computer Engineering. She was professor emerita in the Department of Computer Science, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
The IEEE Biomedical Engineering Award is a Technical Field Award of the IEEE given annually for outstanding contributions to the field of biomedical engineering. It was established in 2010.
Masakatsu G. Fujie is a Japanese scientist who has played a major role in cutting-edge research in biomedical engineering. He has been responsible for many advances in the field of robotics.
Ravi V. Bellamkonda is an Indian-American biomedical engineer and academic administrator. Since 2021, he has served as Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Bellamkonda was previously Vinik Dean of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University.
Muyinatu "Bisi" A. Lediju Bell is a researcher and faculty member. She is the John C. Malone Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University. She is also the director of the Photoacoustic and Ultrasonic Systems Engineering Laboratory.
Kathryn Radabaugh Nightingale is an American biomedical engineer and academic in the field of medical ultrasound. She is the Theo Pilkington Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, and an elected fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
Amanda Randles is an American computer scientist who is the Alfred Winborne and Victoria Stover Mordecai Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Duke University. Randles is an associate professor of biomedical engineering with secondary appointments in computer science, mathematics, and mechanical engineering and materials science. She is a member of the Duke Cancer Institute. Her research interests include biomedical simulation, machine learning, computational fluid dynamics, and high-performance computing.
Nirmala (Nimmi) Ramanujam is an educator, innovator, and entrepreneur. Ramanujam is recognized for creating globally accessible technologies for women’s health related to cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment. She is the Robert W. Carr Professor of Engineering and Professor of Cancer Pharmacology and Global Health at Duke University. She founded the Center for Global Women’s Health Technologies in 2013 to catalyze impactful research, educational and community outreach activities that promote women’s health. In 2023, she won the IEEE Biomedical Engineering Technical Field Award, given annually for outstanding contributions to the field of Biomedical engineering. In 2019, she received the social impact Abie Award for making a positive impact on women, technology, and society. She was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2017. She founded Calla Health to commercialize technologies developed at the center. Further she has created a number of initiatives and consortia including WISH, (In)visible Organ and IGNITE to have far reaching impact in cervical cancer, reproductive health and engineering design education, respectively.
George R. Wodicka is an American biomedical engineering educator, researcher, inventor, entrepreneur, and academic administrator. He is the Vincent P. Reilly Professor of Biomedical Engineering and was the Dane A. Miller Founding Head of the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University. His research and entrepreneurship focuses on the application of acoustic technologies to improve child health.
Audrey K. Ellerbee Bowden is an American engineer and Dorothy J. Wingfield Phillips Chancellor's Faculty Fellow at Vanderbilt University, as well as an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering. She is a Fellow of Optica, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE).
Gregg E. Trahey is an American biomedical engineer and academic in the field of medical ultrasound. He is the Robert Plonsey Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. In 2022, he was named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) "for contributions to speckle tracking and acoustic radiation force impulse imaging in medical ultrasound".
