Biomedical Engineering Education Research Articles

Future Direction of Engineering Education in the Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Era

This study investigates the future direction of biomedical engineering education in higher education. It examines the perceptions of learning activities, modes, and styles among a group of biomedical engineering students at an Australian university. The survey findings reveal that both traditional and progressive pedagogies are preferred by the respondents. This paper concludes that traditional face-to-face lecturing maintains its value in biomedical engineering education.

Building Biomedical Engineering Education, Research, and Innovation at HBCUs (NIBIB)

Building Biomedical Engineering Education, Research, and Innovation at HBCUs (NIBIB)

A Practical Research Methods Course That Teaches How to Be a Successful Biomedical Engineering Graduate Student

Should your department offer a course on how to be a scientist and a successful graduate student? We offer this course at George Mason University as a mandatory part of the graduate curriculum, but this is not common practice for graduate biomedical engineering programs. Graduate education in biomedical engineering is evolving rapidly, with an increasing demand for fundamental research skills, interdisciplinary skills, and professional development. We believe that graduate students will be more successful in their research activities if they are explicitly taught these skills at the beginning of their graduate coursework. This paper describes the design of this course in our bioengineering department.

Implementing a challenge-based learning experience in a bioinstrumentation blended course

BackgroundBioinstrumentation is essential to biomedical engineering (BME) undergraduate education and professional practice. Several strategies have been suggested to provide BME students with hands-on experiences throughout the curriculum, promoting their preparedness to pursue careers in industry and academia while increasing their learning and engagement. This paper describes the implementation of challenge-based learning (CBL) in an undergraduate bioinstrumentation blended course over the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsThe CBL experience was implemented in a third-year bioinstrumentation course from the BME program at Tecnologico de Monterrey. Thirty-nine students enrolled in two sections formed fourteen teams that tackled blended learning activities, including online communication, lab experiments, and in-person CBL activities. Regarding the latter, students were challenged to design, prototype, and test a respiratory or cardiac gating device for radiotherapy. An institutional student opinion survey was used to assess the success of our CBL implementation.ResultsStudent responses to the end-of-term survey showed that they strongly agreed that this course challenged them to learn new concepts and develop new skills. Furthermore, they rated the student-lecturer interaction very positively despite the blended format. Overall, students assessed their learning experience positively. However, implementing this CBL experience required a substantial time increase in planning, student tutoring, and constant communication between lecturers and the industry partner.ConclusionThis work provides an effective instance of CBL for BME education to improve students’ learning experience despite decreased resource efficiency. Our claim is supported by the student’s performance and the positive feedback from our industrial partner.

Interactive remote electrical safety laboratory module in biomedical engineering education

Interactive remote electrical safety laboratory module in biomedical engineering education

Biomedical Engineering Education in Nigeria

In the past five decades, Nigeria has witnessed a range of Biomedical Engineering (BME) and technology activities within private and public hospitals, research institutions, and a limited number of universities. These have mainly centred on the procurement, installation, and maintenance of medical equipment and devices. Trained technologists and technicians, equipped with relevant skills and certification, have primarily spearheaded these efforts. Consequently, the country has made a minimal contribution to the global knowledge base in BME research. However, academic programmes leading to degrees and dedicated research in BME have recently emerged within Nigerian universities. This article assesses the current state of BME education in the country, including the milestones achieved, ongoing challenges, and prospects for future development. It draws on a critical analysis of the existing literature on BME practices and education in Nigeria as well as the author’s informed perspective. The findings highlight that BME education in Nigeria is yet to match international standards. To further develop these programmes, it recommends that attention focus on seven key areas that have proven instrumental in the development of similar university programmes in developed nations. Strategies are also proposed to foster collaboration among universities, researchers, the health sector, and government entities that would promote interdisciplinary BME education, ultimately enhancing the healthcare delivery system, and research and development (R&D) in Nigeria.

Hybrid Soft-Rigid Active Prosthetics Laboratory Exercise for Hands-On Biomechanical and Biomedical Engineering Education.

This paper introduces a hands-on laboratory exercise focused on assembling and testing a hybrid soft-rigid active finger prosthetic for biomechanical and biomedical engineering (BME) education. This hands-on laboratory activity focuses on the design of a myoelectric finger prosthesis, integrating mechanical, electrical, sensor (i.e., inertial measurement units (IMUs), electromyography (EMG)), pneumatics, and embedded software concepts. We expose students to a hybrid soft-rigid robotic system, offering a flexible, modifiable lab activity that can be tailored to instructors' needs and curriculum requirements. All necessary files are made available in an open-access format for implementation. Off-the-shelf components are all purchasable through global vendors (e.g., DigiKey Electronics, McMaster-Carr, Amazon), costing approximately USD 100 per kit, largely with reusable elements. We piloted this lab with 40 undergraduate engineering students in a neural and rehabilitation engineering upper year elective course, receiving excellent positive feedback. Rooted in real-world applications, the lab is an engaging pedagogical platform, as students are eager to learn about systems with tangible impacts. Extensions to the lab, such as follow-up clinical (e.g., prosthetist) and/or technical (e.g., user-device interface design) discussion, are a natural means to deepen and promote interdisciplinary hands-on learning experiences. In conclusion, the lab session provides an engaging journey through the lifecycle of the prosthetic finger research and design process, spanning conceptualization and creation to the final assembly and testing phases.

Integration of Febio as an Instructional Tool in the Undergraduate Biomechanics Curriculum.

Computer simulations play an important role in a range of biomedical engineering applications. Thus, it is important that biomedical engineering students engage with modeling in their undergraduate education and establish an understanding of its practice. In addition, computational tools enhance active learning and complement standard pedagogical approaches to promote student understanding of course content. Herein, we describe the development and implementation of learning modules for computational modeling and simulation (CM&S) within an undergraduate biomechanics course. We developed four CM&S learning modules that targeted predefined course goals and learning outcomes within the febio studio software. For each module, students were guided through CM&S tutorials and tasked to construct and analyze more advanced models to assess learning and competency and evaluate module effectiveness. Results showed that students demonstrated an increased interest in CM&S through module progression and that modules promoted the understanding of course content. In addition, students exhibited increased understanding and competency in finite element model development and simulation software use. Lastly, it was evident that students recognized the importance of coupling theory, experiments, and modeling and understood the importance of CM&S in biomedical engineering and its broad application. Our findings suggest that integrating well-designed CM&S modules into undergraduate biomedical engineering education holds much promise in supporting student learning experiences and introducing students to modern engineering tools relevant to professional development.

A biomedical engineering curriculum development: A qualitative study engaging four stakeholders

AbstractBiomedical engineering is critical in improving people's lives through innovative solutions to biological and medical challenges. In the face of today's rapidly evolving climate, the field of biomedical engineering encounters numerous pressures that demand up‐to‐date skills and competencies. The (re‐)development of curricula aligning with industry and societal needs, students' expectations, and academics' expertise while outlining graduates' knowledge (that) and abilities (how) becomes indispensable despite the challenges and complexities presented by conflicting priorities, tight timelines, and scarce resources. This paper presents a qualitative study conducted by a biomedical engineering graduate school at an Australian university. The study engaged four key stakeholders—industry partners, recent graduates, current academics, and students—in a self‐auditing process of an existing biomedical engineering curriculum. This exercise aimed to identify priorities for the future development of the curriculum. The findings reveal the perspectives from the four stakeholder groups, with industry partners and recent graduates focusing on technical and transferable skills and current students and academic staff advocating for breadth and a more practice‐oriented curriculum, where transdisciplinarity should inform biomedical engineering education. We propose that this evidence‐based and bottom‐up approach with multiple stakeholders holds potential implications for fields beyond biomedical engineering education. It provides valuable guidance to educational institutions seeking to (re‐)develop their curricula to align with evolving industry and society demands.

Leveraging an Open-Access Digital Design Notebook for Graduate Biomedical Engineering Education in Nigeria

Amidst the dual challenges of an eight-month university closure from nationwide public university strikes in Nigeria and the lingering impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, we needed to innovate the delivery of BME graduate curriculum to ensure graduate students continued to progress in their studies. To ensure BME graduate students were engaging in team-based, clinician-identified engineering design challenges, we developed a digital design notebook (DDN) using Google Sites as an open-access, collaborative tool for scaffolding and documenting the engineering design process. Student design teams remotely uploaded digital content documenting their project work onto scaffolded DDNs created by program instructors. DDNs were purposefully designed to shepherd students through the design process such that each phase of the design process corresponded to an editable “page” of the DDN. Video lectures, learning resources, assignments, and other program information were embedded into the DDN for students to access throughout their design challenge. Project mentors and program instructors remotely monitored and assessed students’ work using the DDN. At the end of the design challenge, students effectively created an e-portfolio which showcased the work they conducted to build a biomedical prototype. Designing and implementing the DDN builds on previous research which demonstrates that “structured” design notebooks can be used as effective tools in engineering design and design thinking education. Our work also leverages educational frameworks for infusing engineering design into existing graduate biomedical engineering curriculum in Nigeria.

A pedagogical approach for the development and optimization of a novel mix of biowastes-derived hydroxyapatite using the Box-Behnken experimental design

The current study details the creation of synthetic hydroxyapatite (HAp) using a combination of catfish and bovine bones (C&B). This is done to design the optimum processing parameters and consolidate instructional strategies to develop HAp scaffolds for biomedical engineering. The HAp produced from the novel mix of the biogenic materials (C&B) was through calcination and supported with the sol-gel technique, sintering, and low-cold compaction pressure. The ideal preparation conditions were identified with the aid of the Box-Behnken statistical design in response surface methodology. To understand the physicochemical and mechanical properties of the formulation, analytical studies on the synthesized HAp were carried out. To establish a substantial relation between the physicomechanical properties of the produced HAp scaffolds, three parameters— sintering temperature, compaction loads, and holding times were used. In the evaluation, the sintering temperature was found to have the greatest impact on the material's physicomechanical properties, with compressive strength (13 MPa), porosity (49.45 %), and elastic modulus (2.216 GPa) being the most enhanced properties in that order. The physicomechanical characteristics of the HAp scaffolds were at their optimal at 900 °C, 1 h 18 min of holding time, and 311.73 Pa of compaction pressure. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) results showed that powders with a dominant HAp phase were produced at all runs, including the optimum run. Therefore, using a computationally effective methodology that is helpful for novelties in biomedical engineering education, this study demonstrates the optimal process for the synthesis of a novel matrix bone-derived HAp, showing the most significant relations liable for manufacturing medically suitable HAp scaffolds from the mixture of bovine and catfish bones.

Using interprofessional education to build dynamic teams to help drive collaborative, coordinated and effective newborn care

BackgroundAs countries strive to achieve sustainable development goal 3.2, high-quality medical education is crucial for high-quality neonatal care. Women are encouraged to deliver in health units attended by a skilled team. Traditionally, the team is doctors and nurses, but they are members of a large group of interdependent experts from other disciplines. Each discipline trains separately, yet the goal of good neonatal care is common to all. The use of interprofessional education breaks down these professional silos improving collaborative practice and promoting excellent clinical care. Introduction of new educational materials and training requires a rigorous approach to ensure sustainability.MethodsAn extensive needs assessment identified gaps in neonatal training. Specifically, there was a lack of inclusion of medical devices used in clinical care. In each country, national key stakeholders came together to develop and revise their own neonatal curricula, trainings or guidelines. A core writing education team were tasked to develop evidence-based materials on pertinent medical devices to include in these national materials. These then underwent internal and external review. A provider course for biomedical engineers and technicians was introduced. Skills labs were established to improve practical skills teaching. To improve the quality of teaching, a NEST360 generic instructors course (GIC) was developed.ResultsTwenty modules, 14 scenarios, 17 job aids and 34 videos have been published to date. Materials have been embedded into neonatal curricula and national trainings. Forty-one skills labs were installed in pre-service learning institutions and, up to June 2022, have been used by 7281 students. Pre- and in-service interprofessional training was implemented at all NEST360 institutions (clinical and biomedical). GIC courses were conducted at least twice a year in all countries. Three hundred seventeen nurses, biomedical and clinical staff have undertaken the GIC in all four countries. GIC participants report that the course has very positively influenced their teaching practice.ConclusionsInclusion of key stakeholders throughout has ensured training is embedded within the four countries. Use of interprofessional education and inclusion of biomedical engineers and technicians has been very successful. Introduction of the GIC has developed a pool of high-quality educators for neonatal care. This approach has ensured that high-quality interprofessional neonatal training is included within national agendas for neonatal care and beyond.

From Theory to Practice: Unraveling the Impact of Experiential Learning in Biomedical Engineering Education

From Theory to Practice: Unraveling the Impact of Experiential Learning in Biomedical Engineering Education

Transdisciplinary experiential learning in biomedical engineering education for healthcare systems improvement

BackgroundThe growing demand for more efficient, timely, and safer health services, together with insufficient resources, put unprecedented pressure on health systems worldwide. This challenge has motivated the application of principles and tools of operations management and lean systems to healthcare processes to maximize value while reducing waste. Consequently, there is an increasing need for professionals with the appropriate clinical experience and skills in systems and process engineering. Given their multidisciplinary education and training, biomedical engineering professionals are likely among the most suitable to assume this role. In this context, biomedical engineering education must prepare students for a transdisciplinary professional role by including concepts, methods, and tools that commonly belong to industrial engineering. This work aims to create relevant learning experiences for biomedical engineering education to expand transdisciplinary knowledge and skills in students to improve and optimize hospital and healthcare care processes.MethodsHealthcare processes were translated into specific learning experiences using the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model. This model allowed us to systematically identify the context where learning experiences were expected to occur, the new concepts and skills to be developed through these experiences, the stages of the student’s learning journey, the resources required to implement the learning experiences, and the assessment and evaluation methods. The learning journey was structured around Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, which considers four stages: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. Data on the student’s learning and experience were collected through formative and summative assessments and a student opinion survey.ResultsThe proposed learning experiences were implemented in a 16-week elective course on hospital management for last-year biomedical engineering undergraduate students. Students engaged in analyzing and redesigning healthcare operations for improvement and optimization. Namely, students observed a relevant healthcare process, identified a problem, and defined an improvement and deployment plan. These activities were carried out using tools drawn from industrial engineering, which expanded their traditional professional role. The fieldwork occurred in two large hospitals and a university medical service in Mexico. A transdisciplinary teaching team designed and implemented these learning experiences.ConclusionsThis teaching-learning experience benefited students and faculty concerning public participation, transdisciplinarity, and situated learning. However, the time devoted to the proposed learning experience represented a challenge.

Effectiveness of Blended Learning in Biomedical Engineering: A Meta-Analysis

The goal of this meta-analysis is to assess the effectiveness of blended learning in biomedical engineering. To that end, the PubMed and Medline databases were combed for relevant research through January 2022, and the eligible papers were picked using a rigorous PRISMA-based selection approach. Blended learning was compared to traditional teaching approaches in all of the research considered. As a consequence of the present search, eighteen research articles with a total of 3097 participants adopting blended learning for biomedical engineering education were dis-covered. Two studies were included from each of the following countries including Australia, Brazil, Germany, Spain and USA. While, one study from China, Denmark, France, KSA, Malaysia, Serbia, Turkey and United Kingdom was included. The results of a meta￾analysis employing random effects models revealed a significant difference between all blended learning and conventional learning methods [MD and its 95% CI were 2.36 (0.94, 3.78)]. The findings advised that biomedical engineering education stakeholders use an innovative teaching strategy based on digital pedagogies.

A Hands-on Medical Mechatronics Exercise to Pump Up Student Learnings

Best practices in Biomedical Engineering education seek to connect classroom knowledge to practical applications. MIT’s Medical Device Design course is comprised of in-class didactics, individual laboratory assignments, and a semester-long, team- based design and prototyping challenge, based in real unmet biomedical need. Students in the course represent a broad set of undergraduate and graduate students, from diverse educational backgrounds, with different levels of training and expertise. This year, as a precursor to the semester-long project, we designed, piloted, and evaluated a new experiential learning lab based around a syringe pump, selected because of its prevalence in the clinical setting, exemplification of core, multidisciplinary biomedical engineering concepts, and suitability for a team-based learning exercise. Students individually calculated patient dosing requirements and translated desired volume and flow rate into stepper motor commands. Then, during a single in-class session, teams worked from a custom-designed and fabricated kit to assemble a syringe pump, breadboard electronics, implement software controls, and finally close the design loop by evaluating their pumps' dispensing performance. A post-lab survey of the student cohort indicated that this pilot lab provided a sound biomedical learning and teamwork opportunity that improved technical literacy. The survey also identified key opportunities for improvement – students wanted more time and instructor-guided learning to increase their understanding of the mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and software subtopics. Consequently, next year we will expand the lab into a multi-class exercise, with enhanced lectures and supplementary materials. Overall, we share this problem-based learning exercise, designed to exemplify key concepts, improve teamwork, and foster hands-on tinkering skills, with other biomedical engineering instructors.

BME 2.0: Engineering the Future of Medicine.

If the 20th century was the age of mapping and controlling the external world, the 21st century is the biomedical age of mapping and controlling the biological internal world. The biomedical age is bringing new technological breakthroughs for sensing and controlling human biomolecules, cells, tissues, and organs, which underpin new frontiers in the biomedical discovery, data, biomanufacturing, and translational sciences. This article reviews what we believe will be the next wave of biomedical engineering (BME) education in support of the biomedical age, what we have termed BME 2.0. BME 2.0 was announced on October 12 2017 at BMES 49 (https://www.bme.jhu.edu/news-events/news/miller-opens-2017-bmes-annual-meeting-with-vision-for-new-bme-era/). We present several principles upon which we believe the BME 2.0 curriculum should be constructed, and from these principles, we describe what view as the foundations that form the next generations of curricula in support of the BME enterprise. The core principles of BME 2.0 education are (a) educate students bilingually, from day 1, in the languages of modern molecular biology and the analytical modeling of complex biological systems; (b) prepare every student to be a biomedical data scientist; (c) build a unique BME community for discovery and innovation via a vertically integrated and convergent learning environment spanning the university and hospital systems; (d) champion an educational culture of inclusive excellence; and (e) codify in the curriculum ongoing discoveries at the frontiers of the discipline, thus ensuring BME 2.0 as a launchpad for training the future leaders of the biotechnology marketplaces. We envision that the BME 2.0 education is the path for providing every student with the training to lead in this new era of engineering the future of medicine in the 21st century.

Experiential Learning in Biomedical Engineering Education Using Wearable Devices: A Case Study in a Biomedical Signals and Systems Analysis Course

Biomedical engineering (BME) is one of the fastest-growing engineering fields worldwide. BME professionals are extensively employed in the health technology and healthcare industries. Hence, their education must prepare them to face the challenge of a rapidly evolving technological environment. Biomedical signals and systems analysis is essential to BME undergraduate education. Unfortunately, students often underestimate the importance of their courses as they do not perceive these courses’ practical applications in their future professional practice. In this study, we propose using blended learning spaces to develop new learning experiences in the context of a biomedical signals and systems analysis course to enhance students’ motivation and interest and the relevance of the materials learned. We created a learning experience based on wearable devices and cloud-based collaborative development environments such that the students turned daily-life scenarios into experiential learning spaces. Overall, our results suggest a positive impact on the students’ perceptions of their learning experience concerning relevance, motivation, and interest. Namely, the evidence shows a reduction in the variability of such perceptions. However, further research must confirm this potential impact. This confirmation is required given the monetary and time investment this pedagogical approach would require if it were to be implemented at a larger scale.

Learning to Care: Faculty Perspectives on Developing Empathy and Inclusive Mindsets in Biomedical Engineering

While we all have our own circumstances and experiences, being able to empathize is critical to recognizing injustice and considering the viewpoints of others in the community. In the human-centric field of biomedical engineering (BME), empathy is imperative to creating inclusive devices or equipment that are equally accessible to all who need them. To learn more about the importance of empathy in the discipline and the learning activities that can be used to promote it, we leveraged qualitative methods and interviewed six BME instructors and course coordinators. We applied Zaki’s framework of empathy as the theoretical foundation for our investigation and analysis, which considers cognitive, emotional, and motivational factors. In this study, we sought to address: (1) The need of empathy for BME students; (2) The need of empathy for BME educators; and (3) How specific learning activities can be used to appreciate and imbue empathy. The analysis resulted in six themes, and the findings illustrated that empathy was considered important for students’ personal and professional development. It can promote intercultural awareness, leadership, and may drive students to think and care about others and take action. Faculty perceived empathy as necessary for themselves as well and they described developing it over the course of their careers as they interacted with students and learned about the issues they faced. In turn, they mentioned how their own empathy served to strengthen their approach as educators, their interpersonal relationships, and their awareness of students in distress. We identified multiple learning activities which can foster empathy in students. Examples include writing personas to enhance perspective-taking or allowing students to share their own narrative to strengthen communication for the speaker and active listening and compassion from those hearing the stories. Requiring students to shadow physicians or conduct interviews with those that will use their products can serve to build compassion and help students to think about others. However, to impact values and mindsets such activities should not just be inserted at a single time point, but instead, should be considered throughout the BME curriculum. The findings from this work not only encourage professional development of BME students and their ability to solve problems addressing the needs of real people, but they also speak to the value of empathy for individual growth and considering diverse perspectives.

Toward a More Ethical and Sustainable Biomedical Engineering Education

Important Lessons Can be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, which after more than two years of worldwide suffering is still among us. First, we now better understand that global health concerns cannot be tackled and solved individually and verify that the dream for universal health care is far from being fulfilled. Besides, biomedical technologies and medical devices, despite their transformative potential, cannot always reach those urgently needing them, due to centralized production, supply chain issues, intellectual property restrictions, and lack of raw materials and resources close to the point of care, which calls for a renovation of the biomedical industry aimed at sustainability and equity. To make matters worse, unethical behaviors of governments, companies, and citizens, from which the ongoing pandemic has provided plenty of examples, also endanger the already challenging progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including "Goal 3" on "Good Health and Well Being."