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Biomedical Engineering
By Pang Soo Mooi
The increasingly important role of biomedical engineering is gathering momentum as healthcare is getting sophisticated with the application of AI . Just this year alone , there are at least two international conferences in Biomedical Engineering , one of which is the 5 th International Conference on Advanced Bioinformatic and Biomedical Engineering to be held in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia in December 2023 .
Malaysian Biomedical Engineers are still small in number in spite of the Government ’ s push for medical tourism wherein the state-of-art medical facilities and treatment are requisite to attract foreign patients to Malaysia for a more affordable and yet up-to-date medical services .
The World Health Organisation ( WHO ), in one of its reports , describes biomedical engineers as human resources for health . Biomedical engineering is one of the more recently recognised disciplines in the practice of engineering . It is a field of practice which brings many , if not all , of the classical fields of engineering together to assist in developing a better understanding of the physiology and structures of the human body , and to support the knowledge of clinical professionals in the prevention , diagnosis and treatment of disease and modifying or supplementing devices for clinical services .
The Era of Biomedicine – National Library of Medicine
The relationship between medicine and the study of life is as old as medicine itself . Nevertheless , historians have highlighted the great transformation that took place in the 19 th century when first physiology and then bacteriology became important resources for the classification , diagnosis , and treatment of human diseases . In that period , significant links developed between the sites specialising in biological experimentation ( i . e . laboratories ) on the one hand , and the places of healing ( i . e . hospitals , dispensaries ) and public health offices on the other . Together , they helped to fashion modern , professional medicine . However , many historical studies have also argued that this mobilisation of biological knowledge exerted a limited impact on medical practice in general , and clinical practice in particular .
The transformation of biology and medicine , and their convergence after 1945 , is far from being uncharted territory for historians . Several studies have revealed a step change in the scale of investment in research , a new role for the state as scientific entrepreneur , an increasingly fundamental level of investigation in biology and medicine , and a closer relationship between the laboratory and the clinic . They have also described the culture of the therapeutic miracle that has pervaded scientific and medical communities , and inspired the search for magic bullets against tuberculosis , cancer , and cardiovascular diseases . In fact , the links between these changes have been such that the period 1945 – 1975 could be described as one of a new system of relations between science , technology and medicine , or a new “ way of knowing ”.
Four ways Biomedical Engineering has enhanced healthcare – Birmingham City School of Health Science
Combining traditional engineering with health has hugely advanced in recent years . With the rise of technology , medicine and resources , Biomedical Engineers are now able to operate in an environment that inspires creativity more than
48 VOL 95 JULY-SEPTEMBER 2023