For the past 30 years, the Pew Charitable Trusts has been promoting biomedical research by providing over 800 early-career researchers with financial support and a network of mentors to advance human health and improve medicine. Over the years, engineering and medicine have merged into an exciting new field that is both intellectually challenging and increasingly productive.
Uncovering Engineering Principles of Biological Systems
Biomedical engineering, or BME, is the use of engineering principles and design concepts in medicine and biology to improve healthcare and diagnostics by designing and creating computer systems, devices, equipment, and software. To date, biomedical technologies include biofeedback and neural feedback equipment such as EEG, aEEG, EMG, qEEG, EMG, temperature, GSR, and others.
Biomedical engineering has expanded to include bionics, medical imaging, bioinformatics, and robotic surgery as well. At the same time, the power of biomedical engineering has led to the need for medical ethics as some biomedical technologies are controversial.
There are over 60 biomedical engineering programs in the United States, but the biomedical research infrastructure (BRI) to lower barriers to discovery is still under development. As the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows, the future is bright, with 2015 median pay for biomedical engineers currently $86,220 per year.
The following video by IEEEx explains why young people at UC Irvine have chosen the field of biomedical engineering. Clearly, biomedical engineers are working on treating and healing all parts of the human anatomy and organs, including the brain.
The following video shows the Pew Charitable Trusts video interviews with some of its early-career researchers.
