Biomedical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g. diagnostic or therapeutic). This field seeks to close the gap between engineering and medicine, combining the design and problem solving skills of engineering with medical biological sciences to advance health care treatment, including diagnosis, monitoring, and therapy. Biomedical engineers work in a variety of fields such as regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, artificial organs, medical devices, bioinstrumentation, nanomedicine, bionics etc.
The first recorded use of the term “biomedical engineer” was in a New York Times article from October 11th 1957 which described how researchers were using “feedback techniques from control theory” to study human physiology. However biomedical engineering has its roots back in early 19th century when French physician Francois Magendie used electrical stimulation to treat patients with muscle spasms caused by injury or disease. In 1871 Scottish surgeon James Balfour used an electrical current to stop bleeding during surgery. Electrical therapeutics continued to grow in popularity throughout late 19th century and early 20th century with new uses being found for electric shocks including treating mental illness and chronic pain.
During World War II there was significant advances made in medical technology due to necessity as many soldiers were wounded in battle. These advances included prosthetic limbs, improved methods for storing blood plasma & antibiotics. The end of WWII saw an influx of German scientists into America which boosted research efforts in many fields including biomedical engineering. One such scientist was Rudolf Schoenheimer who introduced the concept of “labelling” experiments where different molecules are marked so their movement within living organisms can be tracked; a technique that is still used today. Another prominent figure during this time was Walter Cannon who coined the term homeostasis referring to how living beings maintain stable internal conditions despite changes in external environment; again something that biomedical engineers still strive for today . It wasn’t until later on in 1960s though that biomedical engineering became its own distinct field separate from other areas such as electrical engineering
Since then there have been many important milestones and achievements made by biomedical engineers such as developing pacemakers & implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), cochlear implants & hearing aids, artificial hearts & heart-assist devices (VADs), renal dialysis machines & artificial kidneys (AKI), CAT scanners & MRI machines etc.. Most recently there has been significant progress made towards developing 3D printing technologies for fabricating implantable devices and tissues/organs which greatly reduces both surgical time/complexity as well as cost while also increasing patient safety by reducing reliance on donor organs . Additionally gene editing techniques such CRISPR-Cas9 are providing new opportunities for tailored treatments against genetic diseases while also holding great promise for regenerative therapies . All these developments underscore just how important biomedical engineers will continue be in improving our quality and prolonging our quantity of life .