Biomed Basics

Question 1

How many babies are born each year with missing limbs due to genetic disorders?

Answer 1

2,500

Question 2

What is biomedical engineering?

Answer 2

Its the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for health care purposes

Question 3

What are clinical engineers responsible for?

Answer 3

• equipment effectiveness
• electrical safety
• systems and power supply

Question 4

What is bioengineering?

Answer 4

Research orientated closely to-
•biotechnology and genetic engineering
•modification of animal or plant cells to improve plant or animals or develop new micro-organisms

It integrates physical, chemical, mathematical and computational sciences and engineering principles to study biology, medicine, behaviour and health

Question 5

What is co-creation?

Answer 5

Patients and engineers working together to improve solution for patients

Question 6

What are the three categories of medical device?

Answer 6

1. Diagnostic
2. Therapeutic
3. Assistive

Question 7

What are diagnostic medical devices?

Answer 7

The aim of these devices is to improve data collection and enhance the accuracy of diagnostics by enabling the doctor to see the unseen, feel the untouchable etc

Question 8

What are the different types of diagnostic medical device?

Answer 8

• recording and monitoring devices
• measurement and analysis devices
• imaging devices

Question 9

Examples of diagnostic medical devices

Answer 9

• x-ray
• thermometer
• defibrillator
• mri machine

Question 10

What are therapy medical devices?

Answer 10

The aim of therapy medical devices is to deliver physical substances to the body to treat disease.
Physical substances involve voltage, current, pressure, flow, forces, ultra-sound, electromagnetic radiation, heat

Question 11

What are the sub categories of therapy medical devices?

Answer 11

• devices used to treat disorders

* devices to assist or control the physiological functions

Question 12

Examples of therapy medical devices

Answer 12

• pacemakers
• defibrillator
• dialysis machine
• insulin pump

Question 13

What are assistive medical devices?

Answer 13

The aim of assistive medical devices is to assist an individual with a disability
Its application is to perform activities for daily living, improve mobility, improve communication disorders and/or sensory disabilities

Question 14

What are the sub-categories of assistive medical devices?

Answer 14

• orthopaedics

* prosthetic

Question 15

What are orthopaedics?

Answer 15

An appliance that aids an existing function

Question 16

Examples of assistive medical devices

Answer 16

• wheel chair
• stair lift
• walking stick
• hearing aids
• replacement joints

Question 17

What is an augmented function?

Answer 17

This means that the medical device performs better than the natural limb
E.g blades can perform better than legs at running

Question 18

What two categories can medicine be divided into?

Answer 18

1. Classic medicine

2. Electroceuticals

Question 19

What is classic medicine?

Answer 19

Chemical compounds, tested on mice/rats or monkeys.

Question 20

How can animal testing be reduced in classic medicine?

Answer 20

Use of artificial intelligence to predict an outcome of a drug, this uses computational modelling

Question 21

What are electroceuticals?

Answer 21

These are devices implanted at the site, capable of altering electrical impulses in the body. This could replace antibiotics

Question 22

What is Newcastle Uni’s vision of biomedical engineering?

Answer 22

‘’To accelerate the translation of cross faculty research in Biomedical Engineering towards addressing the challenges of our ageing society’’