A new breed of engineers required
The research and development work of medical electronics engineers leads to the manufacturing of sophisticated diagnostic medical equipment needed to ensure good healthcare. Biomedical engineering combines the design and problem-solving skills of engineering with medical and biological sciences to improve healthcare diagnosis and treatment. Much of the work in biomedical engineering consists of research and development spanning a broad array of sub-fields.
The core healthcare science and research in medical sciences will have ever-increasing interface with technology areas. To meet these challenges, a new breed of medical professionals is required which is conversant with medical as well as engineering aspects. They will be able to fuse together the medical sciences with high-end technologies.
Medical electronics engineers carry out research along with life scientists, chemists and medical scientists to develop and evaluate systems and products such as biocompatible prostheses (artificial devices that replace missing body parts), various diagnostic and therapeutic medical devices ranging from clinical equipment to microimplants, common imaging equipment such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalogram (EEG), biotechnologies such as regenerative tissue growth, pharmaceutical drugs and biopharmaceuticals, medical information systems, and health management and care delivery systems.
Most engineers in this speciality need a sound background in another engineering speciality, such as mechanical or electronics engineering, in addition to specialised biomedical training. Some specialties within medical electronics engineering include biomaterials, biomechanics, medical imaging, rehabilitation engineering and orthopaedic engineering.