Biomedical Engineering

This course uses lectures, demonstrations, projects and scientific literature readings on the major branches of biomedical engineering. A series of guest lectures, including device demonstrations introduce students to the many branches of biomedical engineering. Course work for BME 1001 is based on small, creative projects focusing on primary literature, department research, global health, and biomedical engineering as a whole.

This course will introduce basic and essential programming skills in modern engineering program language, Matlab, to all BME students. The course will include basic programming syntax, control structures, data structures (vectors, matrices, structures, cell arrays), 2D images, 3D image volumes, string manipulations, File I/O, figure plotting/visualization, image display, and basic graphical user interface (GUI) design. NOTE: The course does not count for engineering credits, but will fulfill the computer programming requirement for BME students.

This beginning course provides important background for all science and engineering disciplines regarding the capabilities and limitations of materials relevant to the development of medical devices. Students are introduced to the fundamental theme of materials science — structureproperty-processing relationships in biomaterials, specifically metals, ceramics, and plastics. Aspects of material structure range from the atomic to microstructural and macroscopic scales. In turn, these structural features determine the properties of materials. In particular, this course investigates connections between structure and mechanical properties, and how working and thermal treatments may transform structure and thus alter material properties. This knowledge is then applied to material selection decisions for the design of medical devices and engineered tissues. Students who have previously received credit for ES 2001 or BME 2811 may not receive credit for BME 2001.

This course is an introduction to the instrumentation methods used to measure, store and analyze the signals produced by biomedical phenomena. The goal of this course is to familiarize students with the basic design and implementation of techniques for measuring a broad scope of signal types for molecular, cellular and physiological research. Sensors used for acquiring electrical, magnetic, optical/spectral and chemical signals will be covered. Topics include the underlying physics and chemistry of biomedical signals, biosensor types and usage, amplification and signal conditioning, data acquisition methods, and sources of artifact and noise.

To learn the fundamentals of basic signal processing methods as well as linear time series analyses framework for modeling and mining biological data. Tools of data analysis include statistics for determining significance of a result, Laplace and Z transforms, convolution, correlation, sampling theorem, Fourier transform, transfer function, coherence function and various filtering techniques. The goal of this course is to offer the students an opportunity to learn and model and simulate static and dynamic physiological systems using linear systems theory. First principles of chemistry and physics are used to quantitatively model physiological systems. Most of the models are based on linear systems theory. Simulations and estimation are performed using Matlab and already-developed software.

This is an introductory course that addresses the analysis of basic mechanical and structural elements relevant to biomechanics. Topics include general concepts of stresses, strains, and material properties of biomaterials and biological materials including viscoelasticity. Also covered are stress concentrations, two-dimensional stress transformations, principal stresses, and Mohr’s circle. Applications are to uniaxially loaded bars, circular shafts under torsion, bending and shearing and deflection of beams. Both statically determinate and indeterminate problems are analyzed.

This course is an introduction to fundamental material and energy balances related to the field of Biomedical Engineering. The fundamentals of bioprocess engineering calculations and data analysis, and bioengineering processes and process variables will be covered. Students will learn to identify a system, define boundary conditions, and characterize the system processes to generate appropriate material and energy balances using the principles of conservation of mass and energy. Fundamentals and applications in the human body and biomanufacturing are examined. Specific examples may include an organ, multiple organs or the entire body, bioprocess instrumentation, individual or groups of cells, cell culture bioreactors, tissue engineered scaffolds, and drug delivery systems.

This laboratory-based course is designed to develop hands-on experimental skills relevant to the selection and application of various sensors used to acquire biomedical signals.

This laboratory-based course is designed to develop hands-on experimental skills relevant to the design and application of analog instrumentation commonly used to acquire biomedical signals.

This course is an introduction to the computational methods used to extract and analyze the signals produced by biomedical phenomena. The goal of this course is to familiarize the student with implementing the most common algorithmic approaches for data analysis used in biomedical engineering. Coursework will cover programming for topics such as peak detection, spectral analysis and the fast Fourier transform FFT method, auto-regression analysis, polynomial trend removal, and signal filtering methods.

This course provides students with an understanding of mammalian physiology and the engineering aspects of different physiological systems. The course will have both a lecture and laboratory portion. The laboratory portion will provide the students with the ability to analyze and interpret data from living systems, which is a required ABET program criteria for student majoring in Biomedical Engineering. The course will focus on a number of organ systems that may include cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal. Engineering principles that include biomechanical, bioelectrical, and biofluids will be applied to physiological systems.

This course provides students with an understanding of the structure, function and pathologies of physiological systems such as the cardiovascular, respiratory, and the renal system. The course will teach the mechanisms of organ function from an engineering standpoint that help students understand the principles and techniques employed in designing devices used to treat or correct pathological conditions in these organ systems. Students will gain a better understanding of the interface between physiology and device design used in medical devices such as stents, catheters, pacemakers, ECG machines, and other devices as applicable. Special emphasis will be given to group discussions where students will discuss disease pathologies and review the devices used to treat those conditions. Students will be encouraged to review the device design and suggest improvements for better patient outcomes. Other topics covered in the course include regenerative medicine, biomedical ethics and the concept of “Bioinspired design”. This course will not count towards the “Biomedical Engineering and Engineering” course requirement for Biomedical Engineering majors. Students who have received credit for BME3111 cannot receive credit for BME3112.

Students are guided through the open-ended, real-world, design process starting with the project definition, specification development, management, team interactions and communication, failure and safety criteria, progress reporting, marketing concepts, documentation and technical presentation of the final project outcome. The course will include a significant writing component, will make use of computers, and hands-on design explorations. Students who have previously received credit for BME 2300 may not receive credit for BME 3300.

This laboratory-driven solid biomechanics course provides hands-on experience in characterizing the mechanical properties of biological tissues such as bone, tendons, ligaments, skin, and blood vessels and their synthetic analogs. Students gain an in-depth understanding of the course material by performing uniaxial tension and compression, bending, and torsion tests on hard and soft tissues using industry-standard testing equipment and completing mechanical and statistical analysis of the data. Some sections of this course may be offered as Writing Intensive (WI).

This laboratory course will help students increase their knowledge of the mechanics of the musculoskeletal system. Students will gain understanding of the course materials and technical skills through the combined hands-on application of state-of-the-art biomechanical testing equipment and computer simulation modules towards solving authentic problems involving balance, strength, and movement.

This course provides an overview of the modeling and analysis of fluid and mass transport processes related to the field of Biomedical Engineering and Bioprocess Engineering. Fundamentals and applications of hydrostatics, conservation of mass and momentum in modeling and analysis of biological fluid transport processes in the human body and bioprocess equipment are presented and discussed. It includes modeling and analysis of blood and biological fluid flow through blood vessels, capillary beds and bioprocess equipment. Modeling and analysis of diffusive and convective mass transport in biological conduits and membranes, selective permeability and nutrient/waste exchange in parenchymal tissues with transport barriers unique to biological systems such as intact and fenestrated endothelium. Basic concepts of pharmacokinetics such as plasma clearance, volume of distribution of drugs and other biological solutes in body tissues are also covered. Surface adsorption and membrane permeability concepts are covered in the context of biological soluted exchange in capillaries and bioprocess operations. Students may not receive credit for both BME 3610 and BME 36IX.

This laboratory-driven course provides hands-on experience in the design, fabrication and characterization of biomaterials for medical applications. Students will use synthetic and natural polymer materials to fabricate a scaffold for applications such as tissue engineering, wound healing or controlled drug delivery. A challenge-based laboratory project will be assigned which will require the students to design a biomaterial scaffold that meets specific design criteria, and quantitatively assess the properties of this scaffold to evaluate how well the criteria were met. Design criteria may include mechanical strength, biocompatibility, porosity, degradation rate, or release kinetics. Students will complete the project at their own pace in a team setting and communicate their findings effectively.

This laboratory-driven course provides hands-on experience in the application of bioengineering to control cellular processes. Students will be challenged to design an intervention to manipulate a specific cellular process (adhesion, proliferation, migration, differentiation) and use modern cellular and molecular biology tools to assess and refine their approach. Laboratory exercises will provide an overview of cell culture technique, microscopy and molecular probes, quantification of cell proliferation and migration, and assessment of cellular differentiation in the context of the assigned projects. Students will complete the project at their own pace in a team setting and communicate their findings effectively.

Introduction to biomedical signal processing and analysis. Fundamental techniques to analyze and process signals that originate from biological sources: ECGs, EMGs, EEGs, blood pressure signals, etc. Course integrates physiological knowledge with the information useful for physiologic investigation and medical diagnosis and processing. Biomedical signal characterization, time domain analysis techniques (transfer functions, convolution, auto- and cross-correlation), frequency domain (Fourier analysis), continuous and discrete signals, deterministic and stochastic signal analysis methods. Analog and digital filtering. This course will be offered in 2022-23, and in alternating years thereafter.

This applications lab is a sequential extension of the corresponding techniques lab (BME 3012 and BME 3013). The lab course provides students with experience of utilizing biomedical sensors and instrumentation and their applications for biomedical engineering. The students will learn about the appropriate selection of sensors for clinically relevant problems. The students will work on design projects in teams to develop their instrumentation system that demonstrates proof-of-concept of a potentially useful biomedical instrument, analyzing and interpreting data and effective communication skills. The lab will build on the concepts in sensors and instrumentation introduced in BME 3012 Biomedical Sensors Laboratory: Techniques and BME 3013 Biomedical Instrumentation Laboratory: Techniques, and lower-level instrumentation and data analysis courses.

This course builds on the fundamental knowledge of instrumentation and sensors. Lectures cover the principles of designing, building and testing analog instruments to measure and process biomedical signals. The course is intended for students interested in the design and development of electronic bioinstrumentation. Emphasis is placed on developing the student’s ability to design a simple medical device to perform real-time physiological measurements.

This course provides an understanding of fundamental principles of various biomedical imaging modalities as well as computational image analysis. Topics include: light microscopy, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, computational image analysis, and review of computer vision theory and the relevant principles of physics. Course work uses examples from light microscopy, computed tomography, X-ray radiography, and magnetic resonance imaging. Familiarity with a high-level programming language is recommended. This course will be offered in 2022-23, and in alternating years thereafter.

This course guides students through the engineering design process during the first term of their MQP to aid them in fulfilling their capstone design requirement. The course focuses on developing a revised client statement based on the objectives, constraints, and functions of the design. Methods for concept generation, concept selection and development strategy will be covered. In addition, project planning tools, business plans, ethics, and design for manufacturability and sustainability will be covered. BME 4300 cannot be used to fulfill graduate degree requirements.

This course will explore open-ended problems at the intersections of engineering, biology, and social responsibility. This course challenges students to thoughtfully and consciously apply the engineering design process to develop innovative and accessible solutions for healthcare issues affecting marginalized communities. This course aims to empower students to become socially conscious engineers, equipped with the skills and knowledge to make a meaningful difference in the healthcare outcomes of marginalized communities. By the end of the course, students will have a deep understanding of the ethical and practical dimensions of engineering solutions in biomedical applications, particularly for those who are most vulnerable in society. This class can be counted toward the BME capstone design requirement.

This course will focus on using computational modeling approaches, particularly, finite element models, to simulate, validate, and analyze the biomechanics involved in soft and hard tissue deformation and stress/strain analysis in quasi-static or impact conditions. First, students will be introduced to the process of setting specific analytical goals and establishing the need for a specific quantitative biomechanical model. Then, basic underlying principles of forward and inverse static/dynamics simulations are covered. Finally, multi-scale and multi-step models will be introduced. During the process, material models and property assignment will also be covered. Model building, testing, optimization and validation with experimental data will be discussed. An introduction to tools and techniques used in computational biomechanics will be provided.
Students may not receive credit for both BME 450X and BME 4503. 
This course will be offered in 2022-23, and in alternating years thereafter.

This course emphasizes the applications of mechanics to describe the material properties of living tissues. It is concerned with the description and measurements of these properties as related to their physiological functions. Emphasis on the interrelationship between biomechanics and physiology in medicine, surgery, body injury and prostheses. Topics covered include: Review of basic mechanics, stress, strain, constitutive equations and the field equations, viscoelastic behavior, and models of material behavior. The measurement and characterization of properties of tendons, skin, muscles and bone. Biomechanics as related to body injury and the design of prosthetic devices.

This laboratory-driven solid biomechanics course provides hands-on experience in characterizing the mechanical properties of biological tissues such as bone, tendons, ligaments, skin, and blood vessels and their synthetic analogs, in the context of an authentic challenge. Students gain an in-depth understanding of the course material from personal observations, measurements, and analysis of biological tissues and synthetic replacement/fixation materials using industry-standard testing equipment. A challenge-based laboratory project will be assigned which will require the students to determine and execute effective test methods at their own pace in a team setting and communicate their findings effectively. Some sections of this course may be offered as Writing Intensive (WI).

This application lab is a sequential extension of the corresponding techniques lab (BME 3507). This course provides hands-on experience with applying/utilizing state-of-the-art mechanical testing equipment and software to characterize whole-body biomechanics, including balance, strength, and movement, in the context of an authentic real-world challenge. Students will work in teams to design and execute experiments, utilize appropriate testing equipment, analyze, and interpret data, and effectively communicate results.

This course emphasizes the applications of fluid mechanics to biological problems. The course concentrates primarily on the human circulatory and respiratory systems. Topics covered include: blood flow in the heart, arteries, veins and microcirculation and air flow in the lungs and airways. Mass transfer across the walls of these systems is also presented. This course will be offered in 2022-23, and in alternating years thereafter.

This laboratory-driven transport course provides hands-on experience in measuring heat, flow, and transport in biologically-relevant systems. Students gain an in-depth understanding of the course material from personal observations and measurements on model cardiovascular systems and connective tissues. Challenge-based laboratory projects will be assigned which will require the students to determine and execute effective test methods at their own pace in a team setting and communicate their findings effectively. Systems modeled may include blood vessels, stenotic vessels, and aneurysms. Connective tissues tested may include blood vessels and skin.

Note: Students who previously took BME 3605 will not get credit for BME 4607.

This course examines the principles of molecular and cell biology applied to the design of engineered molecules, cells and tissues. Topics will include the basic structural, chemical and physical properties of biomolecules (proteins, lipids, DNA and RNA), application of biomolecules to monitor and alter cellular processes in vitro and in vivo, and design considerations for engineering cell and molecular therapeutics. Case studies will be used to examine specific applications of molecular and cellular bioengineering technologies to treat disease and promote tissue repair and regeneration. Students who earned credit for BME 37XX may not receive credit for BME 4701.

This application lab is a sequential extension of the corresponding techniques lab (BME 3811). This applications-based, laboratory-driven course provides hands-on experience in the design, fabrication, and characterization of biomaterials for medical applications. Students will use synthetic and natural polymer materials to fabricate a scaffold for applications such as tissue engineering, wound healing, or controlled drug delivery. A challenge-based laboratory project will be assigned which will require the students to design a biomaterial scaffold that meets specific design criteria, and quantitatively assess the properties of this scaffold to evaluate how well the criteria were met. Design criteria may include mechanical strength, biocompatibility, porosity, degradation rate, or release kinetics. Students will complete the project in a team setting and communicate their findings effectively.

This application lab is a sequential extension of the corresponding techniques lab (BME 3813 Cellular Engineering: Techniques). This course provides experience in advanced cellular engineering techniques for students who are already proficient in basic mammalian cell culture methods. Students, in consultation with the course instructor, will formulate and conduct independent project(s) to answer specific questions/hypothesis from selected research topics. Students will develop their own experimental plans, considering the experimental set up, timelines, number of replicates, experimental controls, and strategies to test their hypothesis. Students must use proper statistical method(s) to test their hypothesis and present their findings.

A course discusses various aspects pertaining to the selection, processing, testing (in vitro and in vivo) and performance of biomedical materials. The biocompatibility and surgical applicability of metallic, polymeric and ceramic implants and prosthetic devices are discussed. The physico-chemical interactions between the implant material and the physiological environment will be described. The use of biomaterials in maxillifacial, orthopedic, dental, ophthalmic and neuromuscular applications is presented.

This course examines the principles of materials science and cell biology underlying the design of medical devices, artificial organs and scaffolds for tissue engineering. Molecular and cellular interactions with biomaterials are analyzed in terms of cellular processes such as matrix synthesis, degradation and contraction. Principles of wound healing and tissue remodeling are used to study biological responses to implanted materials and devices. Case studies will be analyzed to compare tissue responses to intact, bioresorbable and bioerodible biomaterials. Additionally, this course will examine criteria for restoring physiological function of tissue and organs and investigate strategies to design implants and prostheses based on control of biomaterial-tissue interactions.

The course examines fundamental composition, structure, property and performance relationships in classical and novel drug delivery systems as part of disease treatment strategies (i.e. cancer, organ damage). Physiological barriers to drug delivery and methods to overcome these barriers are analyze. The course will familiarize students with biomaterial-based drug delivery systems that have recently been developed. Topics include routes of drug administration, diffusion, Fick’s law, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, drug modifications, materials for drug delivery (implantable, transdermal, injectable), antibody therapeutics, cells as drugs and drug delivery vehicles, and novel drug formulations and delivery systems.