Biomedical Engineering Course Research Articles

Lessons from Developing a Rubric for Evaluating Need Statements on Health Technology Innovation Projects

In design-oriented biomedical engineering courses, some instructors teach need-driven methods for health technology innovation that use a “need statement” to reflect a student team’s hypothesis about the most fruitful direction for their project. While need statements are of the utmost importance to the projects, we were not aware of any comprehensive rubric for helping instructors evaluate them. Leveraging resources such as the Biodesign textbook along with input from faculty teaching health technology design at our university, we created a rubric for evaluating the construction of need statements. We then introduced the rubric to undergraduate students in a 3-week intersession course in fall 2023. Afterward, we used the rubric to compare the de-identified final need statements from 2023 to the de-identified final need statements from students in the course in 2022 and 2021. Our assumption that need statements from 2023 would score better against the rubric than those from previous years proved not to be the case. However, we gleaned valuable lessons about the role of rubrics in supporting student learning and increasing alignment among faculty, as well as insights about rubric development and areas for future study. In this article, we also share the initial version of the rubric so that other instructors can adapt and improve upon it for their own courses.

Classroom-ready open-source educational exoskeleton for biomedical and control engineering

Abstract In recent years, robotic arm exoskeletons have emerged as promising tools, finding widespread application in the rehabilitation of neurological disorders and as assistive devices for everyday activities, even alleviating the physical strain on labor-intensive tasks. Despite the growing prominence of exoskeletons in everyday life, a notable knowledge gap exists in the availability of open-source platforms for classroom-ready usage in educational settings. To address this deficiency, we introduce an open-source educational exoskeleton platform aimed at Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. This platform represents an enhancement of the commercial EduExo Pro by AUXIVO, tailored to serve as an educational resource for control engineering and biomedical engineering courses.

Incorporating a Hands-On Device-Based Activity in a Human Factors Biomedical Engineering Course in Sub-Saharan Africa

A challenge in building the biomedical engineering human factors course at Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences was integrating meaningful direct experiences with medical products. The instructor also noticed a significant gap between the topics in the course and their surrounding clinical context, a low-income setting. Recognizing that devices should be designed and evaluated in the context of the local users’ needs and situations, new hands-on modules were created and implemented in this BME human factors course. Students were asked to critically evaluate and make recommendations to improve the human factors aspects of the software and hardware of the IMPALA, a vital signs monitoring device developed for use in Malawi. Engaging with this medical device, students observed and understood many issues discussed in human factors, including the design of ports, controls, and other user interfaces. The collaboration between the course and the IMPALA project harnessed the local expertise of students to improve the design of a new patient monitoring system. Thus, the IMPALA project itself benefited from this collaboration. Second, students greatly benefited from applying the class concepts to the IMPALA. Students were engaged far more during the interactive components than during the lecture components. Many students successfully translated their knowledge on human factors to their final-year design project.

Development of an Introductory Biomedical Engineering Course Tailored for Electronic Information Majors

Development of an Introductory Biomedical Engineering Course Tailored for Electronic Information Majors

Modeling a quasi-passive bipedal walker: when and where to kick

Walking is one of the most complex tasks a human being can perform. It takes several years to develop the patterns that enable a person to walk and run. Although it is now possible to replicate these patterns in machines such as robots, actuators are needed to control the pace and compensate for the energy loss of walking. However, in small robots (in the scale of centimeters) the size and weight of the actuators could be a limiting factor for their use. To solve this problem, quasi-passive walkers have been recently proposed. These walkers consist of several coupled rigid bodies, usually forming a biped, that move on flat surfaces in the presence of a gravitational field. It is well known that these bipeds can descend on small slope planes without the need for actuators. Walking on horizontal planes requires the presence of actuators to initiate and maintain the pace, however, these actuators could be small enough to ”kick” the walker at the right point at the right time. In this work, we present a physical-mathematical model of a bipedal walker composed of five rigid bodies (two legs, two feet, and the hip) moving in a horizontal plane. The model focuses on the natural motion of the biped under certain initial conditions with the ultimate goal of determining the best position of the actuators and the actuation time to maintain the gait. This model could be used as a guide for the construction of small laboratory-scale walkers and as a teaching tool in biomedical engineering courses.

Early introduction of 3D modeling modules promotes the development of simulation skills in downstream biomedical engineering curricula

BackgroundRecent advancements in additive manufacturing have made 3D design a desirable skill in combating the historically slow development of biomedical products. Due to the broad applicability of additive manufacturing to biomedical engineering, 3D design and 3D printing are attractive educational tools for biomedical engineering students. However, due to the multidisciplinary nature of biomedical engineering, finding a suitable spot in the curriculum to teach students basic and application-based skills for 3D manufacturing is difficult. Furthermore, prior training in fundamental 3D design skills may be needed to support the use of application-based supplementary content.ResultsWe designed a SolidWorks Simulations toolkit to complement a sophomore (2nd-year)-level Biomechanics course and distributed this assignment to students with and without prior training in 3D design delivered in an introductory biomedical engineering course. Using short videos, example-based problem solving, and step-by-step tutorials, students completed this as an extra-credit assignment and completed a survey gauging student opinion on SolidWorks and 3D design, confidence in each target skill, and the effectiveness of assignment delivery. The compilation of survey responses suggests that the assignment effectively increased positive responses in student opinion on interest in and likeliness to use SolidWorks in both groups. However, confidence in the target assignment skills was higher in the trained group and fewer problems occurred in operating SolidWorks for trained students. Further, analyzing the distribution of student grades with respect to survey responses suggests that responses had no relationship with initial class grade.ConclusionThese data collectively indicate that prior training provided to the students had a positive impact on the effectiveness of the assignment although increases in student opinion on the utility of 3D design were observed in both trained and untrained students. Our work has generated and identified a useful educational supplement to enrich existing biomedical engineering course materials with practical skills.

Designing a Biomedical Engineering Course to Develop Entrepreneurial Mindset in Students

Entrepreneurial minded learning (EML) is a pedagogical technique that gives students the tools to identify opportunities, focus on impact, and to create value through their solutions. The entrepreneurial mindset builds upon three key elements: curiosity, connections, and creating value (3 Cs). A biomedical engineering course was developed using EML. EML was infused into every class session through learning objectives, content, reading, and activities. The course culminated in a project in which students used EML to define a problem in bioengineering and propose solutions that incorporated polymers. Activities gave the students the opportunity to experience EML, teamwork, and entrepreneurship, and to work through the stages of their project. Assessments incorporated at least one question tied to EML. Questions on two direct assessments were scored by a set of established EML objectives and associated rubrics. Students participated in anonymous pre- and post-surveys to assess understanding and acquisition of EML skills. There have been two offerings with participation from undergraduate and graduate students. Over two offerings, 38% of students had invention disclosures related to their projects. Survey results indicated significant increases across many areas of EML, with the largest increases related to defining EML and the 3 Cs; identifying opportunity; identifying social, economic, and environmental value; and considering intellectual property. Survey results were corroborated by students demonstrating emerging or accomplished scores on several EML objectives on final exams and final project submissions. By the end of the course, most students appreciated learning the entrepreneurial mindset and saw opportunities to apply these techniques to both their research projects and future careers. EML promoted innovative and creative thinking, problem solving, assessment of user needs, and teamwork. This work demonstrates approaches and examples of assessments and activities that can be used to incorporate entrepreneurial skills into a course.

Escaping the Laboratory: An Escape Room to Reinforce Biomedical Engineering Skills

Commercial escape rooms have grown in popularity as an enjoyable experience that also doubles as an exercise in communication and collaboration. Educators can take advantage of these natural qualities to engage and support students in a low-stress learning environment. The primary goal of this study is to share the development and application of an educational escape room as a tool to provide biomedical engineering (BME) students with an immersive and practical experience. A BME laboratory course-specific escape room was developed and beta-tested on an initial group of BME students. The first set of feedback enabled improvements to the design and difficulty of the escape room, which was followed by the final release of the activity for the intended undergraduate BME course. Across an academic year, 74 participants agreed to provide survey feedback for this study. Despite a moderate escape rate (29%), students reported high satisfaction and enthusiasm for the activity. Student survey responses indicated that participants were engaged and empowered to successfully escape even without external motivators. Responses supported the effectiveness of the escape room as a BME learning environment, allowing students to practice and retain course-related knowledge in a challenging but low-risk activity. The foundational structure of escape rooms offers a beneficial environment for experiential knowledge application. We conclude that educational escape rooms show promise as a pedagogical tool in promoting enhanced knowledge retention through immersive, game-based learning.

Development and Implementation of a Health Equity-Focused Python and Machine Learning Module in an Introductory BME Course

Our first year biomedical engineering course exposes students to multiple engineering and design techniques within an overarching theme of understanding health inequity. Currently, the semester-long curriculum excludes computational methods such as Python programming and Machine Learning, which are usually not introduced until more advanced BME courses in the student’s third and fourth year. This paper details the development and student feedback of a 2-week computational module in a team-based course focused on health inequity. Google Colaboratory was used to host the modules and provide a coding environment for students. The end-of-semester survey indicated that 53% of students (N=127) agreed they gained a basic understanding of Python and were comfortable with the programming language and that 72% of students agreed that the module helped them understand the potential of Machine Learning to aid in analyzing health data and identifying health inequities. Student feedback indicated strong interest in spending additional time on a more in-depth project. Nonetheless, we were able to provide students experience with Python programming and Machine Learning. Further, there was a statistically significant increase (34% to 88%, p-value < 0.001) in students who “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that “I can define and ideate solutions for issues in health inequity.” This module enables first year students to use Python and Machine Learning to analyze health inequities and prepares them to apply computational methods in future courses. We have included links to all of the Python and Machine Learning guides, assignments, coding, and answer keys for educators to implement this module.

Creation of a Novel Biomedical Engineering Research Course for Incarcerated Students

Options for incarcerated individuals to participate in higher education in prison programs (HEPPs) have expanded in recent years to include courses in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, however these students remain an underserved population in the United States. Thus, there are opportunities to expand the available offerings, increase the diversity of coursework available by introducing subjects such as biomedical engineering (BME), and include cocurricular and extracurricular activities widely considered critical components of undergraduate training including research experiences. As such, a year-long program was developed to introduce students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in an HEPP through an R1 institution to research principles in BME. This course introduced students to disciplines within BME, offered opportunities to gain research experience as knowledge-creators, and supported engagement with a scientific learning community. Using a student-centered approach, the course was designed to incorporate activities for reflection, goal setting, and dialogue among participants and sought to leverage students’ funds of knowledge and areas of personal scientific interest. This course represents a transferable model for offering BME courses and research-centered opportunities to students enrolled in other HEPPs and an opportunity to promote equity and access in higher education.

Design and Implementation of Privilege for Sale, a JEDI Activity for a Biomedical Engineering Introductory Course

An increasing body of knowledge points to the need for the integration of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI)-based topics into undergraduate and graduate curricula. The Racial Justice and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) committee designed and implemented a short activity in an introductory undergraduate biomedical engineering course. The activity was designed as a facilitated small group discussion (4 students), preceded by an introduction to the activity, community rules for engagement and a call to reflection of privilege. Groups of students were guided to rank 3 privileges (out of a list of 5) that they valued as contributing factors to their success. Through the activity, situational and social contexts were identified by students in how they valued privileges, and overall fostered a robust discussion amongst peers about their roles and responsibilities as biomedical engineers. The activity engaged students to self-reflect on what they considered as privileges that contributed to success in college. In future re-offerings, the activity is likely to be more impactful when combined with resources that can facilitate calls to action and allyship.

Problem-Based Learning Impacts Students’ Reported Learning and Confidence in an Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Course

Recent advances in teaching, many of which incorporate elements of active learning, seek to provide students with learning experiences indicative of real-world problem solving. Problem-based learning (PBL) is one form of active learning that challenges students to address open-ended problems. In this work, we evaluate the efficacy of PBL in achieving the various levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, compared to the traditional teaching methods of lecture, in-class problems, and homework. In this two-year study of undergraduates at a mid-sized research university, students report their perceived rating of various teaching methods in mastering the educational goals on each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy, from which a cumulative linked mixed model was formed. Students also evaluated their preparedness and increases in skill and confidence for a range of specific tasks associated with completing a PBL project. PBL was the only teaching method to preferentially activate high levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Students also reported increases in their skills and confidence (p < 0.01), with more time spent on high-level tasks, compared to low-level tasks. Qualitative survey responses indicate a plurality of students found PBL engaging and rewarding, with additional benefits to their development of professional skills. Though PBL is not comprehensively better at addressing all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy compared to other teaching methods, this work has shown it is far superior at addressing the highest Bloom’s Taxonomy levels of Evaluate and Create. Time spent in PBL improves students’ self-efficacy in high-level tasks, preparing them for difficult and ill-defined tasks they may expect to see in future professional and academic environments.

Concept Mapping as a Metacognition Tool in a Problem-Solving-Based BME Course During In-Person and Online Instruction.

Metacognitive skills can have enormous benefits for students within engineering courses. Unfortunately, these metacognitive skills tend to fall outside the content area of most courses, and consequently, they can often be neglected in instruction. In this context, previous research on concept mapping as a teaching strategy points to meaningful learning. The purpose of this innovation paper is to report an application of concept mapping (1) to facilitate metacognition steps in students, and (2) to identify the muddiest points students struggle with, during both in-person and online instruction of a problem-solving-based biomedical engineering course. This innovation article also looks at the usefulness of concept mapping through instructor and student perceptions and students’ class performance. The entire concept mapping intervention was conducted during weeks 8–10 of the Spring 2019 in-person quarter and during weeks 3–4 and 8–10 of the Spring 2021 online quarter. The exercise involved concept mapping, explanation and discussion with peers, and answering structured reflection prompts. Each concept map activity was contextualized to the metacognitive knowledge domain of the revised Bloom’s taxonomy. The average class performance was compared between students who completed concept mapping vs. those who did not, using a t-test and one-way ANOVA at alpha = 0.05 significance level followed by a Tukey HSD test. Students’ concept maps and reported answers were analyzed qualitatively following the concept mapping intervention. During the Spring 2019 in-person quarter, 59.30% of students completed concept mapping with reflection, whereas 47.67% completed it in spring 2021 online instruction. A two-tailed, unpaired t-test indicated that concept mapping did not significantly enhance students’ class performance (p > 0.05) within each of the in-person and online instructions. Peers’ suggestions to students to improve concept maps revealed themes related to course concepts, prerequisite concepts, and the act of concept mapping itself. Concept mapping was effective in revealing the muddiest points of the course. Concept mapping did not significantly enhance students’ class performance either in-person or online instruction (effect sizes were 0.29 for the 2019 in-person quarter and 0.33 for the 2021 online quarter). However, instructors and students’ perceptions reflected that concept mapping facilitated metacognition in a problem-solving-based biomedical engineering course both during in-person and online instruction. Most students (78%) were optimistic about the usefulness of concept mapping for this course, and 84% were inclined to apply it for a variety of other courses.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43683-022-00066-3.

Znaczenie biocybernetyki w nauczaniu inżynierii biomedycznej na podstawie opinii studentów

Teaching Biomedical Engineering now takes place in most technical schools and in some universities. Each of them uses its own curricula, tailored to the goals of education and the qualifications of their staff. This diversity concerns, among other things, the lecture on the subject of biocybernetics. At the birth of the Biomedical Engineering studies (which was launched at the AGH University of Science and Technology a year earlier than in all other Polish universities), the biocybernetics lecture was the first one that the students listened to. Following the example of AGH, other universities also introduced this lecture. Later, however, many universities gave up teaching this subject, and Act 2.0 changed the name of the scientific discipline for many years called “Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering” to “Biomedical Engineering”, limiting the chances of obtaining degrees in biocybernetics. Nevertheless, at AGH UST, this subject is still taught at the beginning of the Biomedical Engineering course. In the academic year 2021/22, a survey was conducted among the students; having had one semester of lectures, they answered the question: “How will the knowledge of biocybernetics help me in the profession of a biomedical engineering specialist?” This article presents the results of this survey and encourages you to think about it.

Design and Implementation of "SHU-AP" system for Biomedical Engineering Course "Anatomy and physiology" in COVID-19.

Online courses played important roles in biomedical engineering (BME) teaching during the COVID-19 epidemic. However, existing virtual experiment systems are not suitable for BME course "anatomy and Physiology". Therefore we developed a virtual experiment system "SHU-AP". The system is composed of six virtual experiments. To judge the feasibility and teaching effectiveness of the system, we used it for real teaching in Year 2020 and compared it with offline teaching. We divided BME students into two classes: Class A (offline experiment) and Class B (virtual experiment). Both classes were taught by the same teacher. At the end of the semester, we issued questionnaires for the two classes. The results showed that there was no significant difference in students' performance and teaching satisfaction under the two teaching methods. As a conclusion, virtual experiments could achieve the same teaching effectiveness same as offline experiments.

STUDENTS AS PARTNERS PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY AND MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVE REFLECTION

Instructors engaging students as partners in curriculum development is a growing pedagogical approach. This can promote a two-way conversation between instructors and students and jointly benefit both sides of the partnership. This paper will take the form of a case study centered on implementation of the Students asPartners Program (SaPP) for two compulsory biomedical engineering courses at Carleton University. Reflections on student partnership and its effects will be considered from multiple perspectives: from the instructor, from the SaPP student, and from a student who took one of the courses. Generalized observations will be presented, as well as reflections that may be applicable to the engineering academic community at large.

Creating a Welcoming and Engaging Environment in an Entirely OnlineBiomedical Engineering Course.

In the spring of 2020, brick and mortar colleges had to abruptly adapt to the reality of COVID-19 and transition to entirely online environments in a manner of weeks. This required a rapid (< 2 weeks) acquisition of knowledge and flexibility in using technology, most commonly Zoom. Upon completion of the semester, and after debriefing with numerous faculty teaching required courses across the biomedical engineering department at ____ University, the most common comments were that the online engagement and the online environment were nothing close to the traditional classroom environment: students were less likely to show up; less likely to enable their cameras so you could see their faces; and less likely to ask or answer questions in class. To address these issues, in this paper we make easily implementable recommendations that will increase engagement and improve the inclusivity of online courses that can be applied to any biomedical engineering course offered in an online environment. Student engagement is especially important for promoting student learning as has been well documented in education research (Taylor and Parsons in Curr. Issues Educ, 2011. Retrieved from http://cie.asu.edu/; Armstrong in The Best Schools: how human development research should inform educational practice. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), Alexandria; 2006). The four recommendations for improving the engagement in the online classroom are: (1) make it a priority to stress the importance of having their cameras on during lecture and explain why it’s important; (2) have a “Daily Question” at the start of lecture where all students respond in chat followed by a brief discussion; (3) make use of the polling feature in Zoom to frequently assess student understanding and upon discovering student confusion on any given question, send them to breakout rooms to discuss, incorporating a quick active learning exercise that can help reduce the monotony of online lecture; and (4) create handouts that are circulated prior to class for students to take different pieces of a particular problem, solve them in their teams in individual breakout rooms, and then discuss the content and results back in class with all teams together. These techniques were shown to increase engagement and attendance and fostered a welcoming environment in the online classroom, contributing positively to student experience and in turn allowing students to achieve student learning outcomes despite the difficult circumstances.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s43683-020-00024-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

"Hands-On, Minds-On, and Science-Up": A Concept-Based Learning Laboratory With a Taste of Research Experience for an Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Course.

In this paper, we bridged faculty research expertise with concept-based learning pedagogy to design and implement a unique laboratory experience for biomedical engineering undergraduate students enrolled in the biomechanics of tissues course at the University of Calgary. This laboratory aimed to increase student engagement, facilitate deeper understanding of course content, and provide an opportunity for accelerated undergraduate research through "hands-on," "minds-on," and "science-up" learning components, respectively. The laboratory exercise involves testing aortic tissues using a novel miniaturized planar biaxial machine. This type of machine is normally reserved for use in the context of research. The relevance of the proposed laboratory as a teaching tool was assessed using student feedback. Results indicate an overall valuable and positive learning experience for students.

Design Thinking-Based STEM Learning: Preliminary Results on Achieving Scale and Sustainability Through the IGNITE Model

Solutions to the most pressing global issues require creative innovators, critical thinkers, and problem-solvers. Yet rural communities globally often lack the resources to provide adequate STEM design-thinking coursework at the primary and secondary school level. Ignite is a novel approach to STEM curricula, providing a framework that addresses this disparity by using design thinking. Students are empowered to understand the sustainable development goals (SDGs) through the development of technological solutions to community or health problems; problems they may relate to or directly experience. Each Ignite curriculum follows a basic formula: (1) students learn a specific set of engineering skills, (2) students work in teams to use the human-centered design process, and (3) they develop a solution to a (SDG) using the engineering skills they learned. Ignite began with just 4 undergraduate students who participated in a design-thinking biomedical engineering course taught at Duke University. Through evidence-based peer-led co-learning model, 79 additional students from Guatemala and the U.S. have become trainers and have taught more than 1,500 students across 16 school in Guatemala since 2017 with preliminary data suggesting the program has a positive impact on student perceptions of STEM the inaugural school where Ignite was launched Instituto Indigena Nuestra Senora del Socorro (IINSS). Preliminary data suggests that this program is both scalable and sustainable due to its peer-led, student learning model and due to a local partner, FUNDEGUA, who is managing the implementation of Ignite locally in Guatemala.

Efficacy of Clinical Simulation-Based Training in Biomedical Engineering Education.

The need for biomedical engineering (BME) students to be trained in real-world healthcare settings, where most medical device industry emerges, is imperative. Clinical immersion helps accomplish this training goal. However, the growing student population in the field of BME and a shortage of clinical collaborators offer serious limitations to the clinical immersion experience. This paper describes the use of a clinical simulation-based training (SBT) tool in BME education as an alternative resource to the real-world clinical immersion experience. Through the inclusion of simulation labs in BME courses, we assessed their efficacy in need-finding and enhancing students' understanding of the current challenges of existing medical technology. We also explored the possibility of offering cross-disciplinary learning environments in these simulation labs, including engineers and students from other healthcare disciplines such as nursing. Simulation labs served as a helpful tool in the need-finding phase of the design process, and the immersed students reported higher adaptive and life-long learning outcomes. Students also reported the simulation lab immersion to be valuable to their future goals as engineers. Furthermore, the SBT labs offered repetitive training in a controlled learning environment, inclusion of an interdisciplinary setting, and feedback through student reflections. The inclusion of simulation lab immersion and SBT labs in the two BME courses served as an useful and alternative educational tool that helped train students to better understand the needs of the healthcare industry while working in interdisciplinary settings.