Aims

• Introduce mechanical engineering techniques relevant to applications in biological systems.

• Provide knowledge and understanding of key healthcare technologies and their impact.

• Raise critical awareness of the ethical and regulatory aspects of biomedical engineering.

Introduce basic anatomy relevant to the case study

Outline Of Syllabus

• Broad overview of Biomedical Engineering

• Case study of a medical implant including clinical need, relevant local anatomy, clinical and engineering assessments of previous and current design solutions, medical implant regulation and assessment of current clinical issues

• Individual project work on a contemporary issue in Biomedical Engineering

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Present-in-Person lectures will introduce the teaching material. Lectures provide the medium through which information and complex ideas can be delivered. The teaching material delivered will, through a taught case study, analyse in detail a clinical situation where a biomedical engineering solution is available. The use of a case study will allow the students to investigate a contemporary area of biomedical engineering in depth. This engineering solution will be assessed and critiqued by students during discussions in seminars, prior to being assessed. These discussions will help the students to understand the area of biomedical engineering as well as related concerns such as regulatory requirements. In addition, students will appraise contemporary scientific literature on the contemporary issue in biomedical engineering and produce an individual assignment. Independent study supports the students' self-study in reading around the lecture material and the associated scientific literature.

Alternative online sessions will be offered to students if in-person sessions are not possible (due to unforeseen circumstances such as a pandemic). In that case, Lectures can be placed online as non-synchronous taught material.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Approximately a third of the assessment will be by regular online assessment over the course of the module. This will serve to test the students on key texts, as well as lecture material and thus scaffold their learning towards the second and larger piece of assessment. This will consist of an individual critique of a journal paper which tests the student's ability to appraise a piece of scientific literature on a contemporary issue in biomedical engineering and to locate it within the wider literature.