So since I'm getting this question alot recently especially from Grade 11 and 12 students who are looking forward to join a university soon, I am opening this topic to discuss rather thoroughly what is biomedical engineering and some other related issues like degrees required and job opportunities both local and abroad.

What is a Biomedical Engineer?

A Biomedical Engineer uses traditional engineering expertise to analyze and solve problems in biology and medicine for providing an overall enhancement of healthcare. Usually students who are torn apart by either going for the medical or engineering track find it the ideal field of expertise since they can be of service to people, partake the excitement of working with living systems, and apply advanced technology to comlex problems in medical care. A biomedical engineer can be called upon for designing instruments, devices and software, bringing together knowledge from many technical sources to develop new procedures, or conducting research needed to solve clinical problems.

Specialty Areas

There are several areas of specialty mainly bioinstrumentation, biomaterials, biomechanics, cellular, tissue and genetic engineering, clinical engineering, medical imaging, orthopaedic bioengineering, rehabilitation engineering, system physiology, and management and sales. I'll only discuss the fields of specialty that are highly requested in Lebanon and the Gulf area (other fields would be discussed upon request).

Bioinstrumentation

It is the application of electronics and measurement techniques to develop devices used in diagnosis and treatment of disease. Essentially, computers are the core of this specialty from microprocessors in a single-purpose instrument to microcomputers needed to process the large amount of information in a medical imaging system. Usually bioistrumentation is incorporated with every other specialty field in biomedical engineering (even management).

Clinical Engineering

It is the application of technology to health care in hospitals. In other words, these engineers work with hospital staff (physicians, nurses, technicians) as members in the biomedical engineering department which is also a part of the hospital maintenance department, or they work within medical companies that affiliate with hospitals. Clinical engineers are responsible for developing and maintaining computer databases of medical instrumentation and equipment records and for the purchase and use of sophisticated medical instruments. They may also work with physicians to adapt instrumentation to their specific needs (and the hospital's), i.e. they devise a plan of developing new or improving current hospital departments (bring in new equipment, updating software, selecting what medical instruments and how many are needed for the department). The latter is known as "Property and Plant Development", and is often affiliated with the Management option. Clinical engineers also interface instruemtns with computer systems and customized software for instruemtn control and data acquisition and analysis. Clinical engineers can have expertise in bioinstrumentation and/or medical imaging. This is the most common field of application and employment for biomedical engineers, and they are highly requested in Lebanon and the Gulf area.

Medical Imaging

It combines the knowledge of aunique physical phenomenon (sound, radiation, magnetism, etc...) with high speed electronic data processing, analysis and display to generate an image. Medical imaging engineers work on developing new schemes of imaging (most research these days involve integrating optical fibers and CDMA with medical imaging machines) and devising imaging procedures with minimal or complete non-invasive involvement with human body, which in turn makes them less painful and more readily repeatable than invasive ones as well as less costly for the hospital and patient alike.

Orthopaedic Bioengineering

A less commonly art of biomedical engineering, it is the specialty where methods of engineering and computational mechanics have been applied forthe understanding of the functions of bones, joints and muscles, and for the design of artifical joint replacements. Orthopaedic bioengineers analyze the friction, lubrication and wear characteristics of natural and artificial joints; they perform stress analysis of the musculoskeletal system; and they develop artifical biomaterials (biological and synthetic) for replacement of bones, cartilages, ligaments, tendons, meniscus and invertebral discs. They often perform gait and motion analyses for sports performance and patient outcome following surgical procedures. They can also conduct studies on cellular function and mechano-signal transduction. Rehabilitation engineers must have the knowledge of orthopaedics, and orthopaedic bioengineers know about prosthotics as well (same concept but instead of foot or ortho, they target hands and arms or prostho).

Rehabilitation Engineering

It is the growing specialty area of biomedical engineering. Rehabilitation engineers enhance the capabilities and improve the quality of life for individuals with physical and cognitive impairments. They are involved in orthotics and prosthetics, the development of home, workplace and transportation modifications and the design of assistive technology that enhance seating and positioning, mobility, and communication. They also develop hardware and software computer adaptations and cognitive aids to assist people with cognitive difficulties.

Management and Sales

As previously discussed in "Clinical Engineering", almost all general managers of medical companies and biomedical engineering departments at hospitals have knowledge in clinical engineering. They also have completed an MBA in Engineering Management (more on that later). Furthermore, biomedical engineeers can become sales engineers; this is mostly the position that general managers partake in their junior years before qualifying to become members of the management board. Sales engineering is often affiliated with technical service enegineering which is a form of post-sales maintenance of medical equipemtn that was sold in the first place. This is a highly requested field of application in virtually any field of engineering in Lebanon and the Gulf area.

Hospital Departments and Medical Equipment for Biomedical Engineers

This is going to be an image only discussion. Any technical details will not be discussed because they require prior knowledge of bioinstruemtnation and medical imaging concepts. There are also metrnity wards, E.Rs (emergency room) and O.Rs (operating room) that use some of the grouped equipment at the end.

Cardiology and Telemetry

Medical Imaging

Angiography (Usually Precedes Open Heart Surgery)

Ultrasound (You're definitely familiar with this one)

Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI

Computed Tomography or CT

Positron Emission Temography or PET (Conducted in what's known as a "Hot Lab")

X-ray

(Guy swallowing sword)

Panoramic Dental Imaging

Dialysis for Kidneys

Orthotics and Prosthetics

Orthotic

Prosthetic

Commonly Used Equipment

Defibrillator

Infusion Pump

Syringe Pump

Volumetric Pump

Bypass Machine for Open Heart Surgery or Transplants

College Degrees and Courses for Biomedical Engineering

Let's split the courses according to their degrees first:

* You'll need to complete your BS (Bachelor of Sciences) or BE (Bachelor of Engineering) in Electrical Engineering (EE) or Biomedical Engineering (BME). If you do a BS, it takes 3 years while the BE takes 4 years to complete. Frankly speaking, doing a BS/BE in EE is a better foundation than in BME since more courses concerning electronics and electric systems are given => you'll have stronger base concerning electrical concepts. As for the BME, you'll be taking introductory courses in medical imaging and biomedical instrumentation (which will be REPEATED in the Masters level) and a lot of physiology courses (which really don't add up to much) in addition to the basic courses of EE like electric circuits and power electronics.

* As for Masters level, there's the Masters of Sciences (MSc.) in BME or Masters of Engineering (ME) in EE with a minor in BME (this option is available at AUB only). There is no ME in BME in Lebanon. In this level, you'll be taking a lot of courses that other EE or CCE students take like digital signal processing (DSP), optimization, linear systems, and stochastic (random processes). These courses are common because they are like Math, a tool used to analyze systems or problems with a difference in the application field (BME, CCE, EE,...). As for the major corses, they include biomedical instrumentation (I & II: dealing with sensors, actuators, data converters, and other electronic devices from the perspective of the biomedical equipment in addition to concepts about the human body and how to model it as an electrical system), digital image processing (how to generate a digital image and analyze it by applying different filters and processing schemes), medical imaging (I & II: basic concepts of what are MRI, CT, X-ray, Ultrasound, PET, etc.. which are different imaging modalities, how to transmit and receive the images, and how to build the imaging machines ie major components), and of course physiology (ie advanced biology course, it's just one course and it's VERY EASY).

* As for Ph.D, it is only offered at AUB and sponsored by one of the most prestigious univeristies of biomedical engineering (John Hopkins in Philidelphia, it is also an affiliate of CMC or Clemanceu Medical Center in Hamra). Abroad, you have John Hopkins, Rutgers, and Ohio State for USA; there are also some good universities in Germany, mainly in Munich, and France (home of the EMB IEEE society which is an engineering society that states the rules and ISO standards for biomedical engineering.

Lebanese Colleges for Biomedical Engineering Studies

The following Lebanese colleges offer this study (order of colleges is done according to preferance to where you should study: evaluation based on professors' performance, lab equipment availability and programming langauges taught):

1- University of Balamand or UOB: Eventhough I really prefer doing the BS in EE somewhere else (basics in programming not that much not because of professors but rather students even excelling ones don't really work on themselves cause they're not driven to), BME at Balamand is the best for those who truly consider a carrer in BME. You have to complete 3 years for BS in EE, then 2 years MS in BME. With Dr. Abche in tow, you'll be in safe hands cause you'll bust you a** working for his courses but all worth the knowledge given. Programming with C/C++, Matlab, NI Labview and Biopac are taught (most of the work comes from your behalf though, but the professors are more thn glad to help). Best option since you can take couple of courses (4 to 6 courses) to have a minor in management.
2- Lebanese International University or LIU: Based on reviews from my cousin who is currently studying there and two of my friends who completed their BS in BME before continuing their MS in BME at UOB, the courses completed at the BS level would be repeated at MS but more thorough approach. The professor who started the program (Dr. Diab) left the Islamic University for LIU and HCU to start the program there; he is truly one of the best in his field. Programming with C/C++ and Matlab taught.
3- American University of Beirut or AUB: Eventhough it is considered the Ivy League of Lebanese universities, when it comes to BME, the program gives an EE or CCE degree with minor in BME (ideal option for those who want to land a job in Lebanon and want equal chances in fields of EE or CCE as well as BME). Programming with C/C++, Matlab, and NI Labview taught.
4- Islamic University: A lot of graduates from there know what they're doing, but a lot of negative reviews come from the students there concerning professors.
5- Hariri Canadian Univeristy or HCU: My first alma matar but would not recommend it these days cause all the good professors are bailing out due to struggles with administration (creative differences). Dr. Diab is still there, so there is slight hope, but a cousin of mine is studying there and she says that she's suffering a bit (what else is new?). Programming in C/C++is taught and in Matlab and NI Labview is left to you to learn but assignemtns are sometimes requested in those langauges (DIY).

Job Description for Biomedical Engineers

In Lebanon and Gulf area, they do sales, perform preventive maintenance (ie checking if medical equipments are operating correclty every 3 to 5 months according to their frequency of use), provide technical service (ie fix a problem when it arises), and give training sessions to nurses and doctors on how to operate the equipment that is newly installed and on new medical standards that have been announced. In some hospitals and companies, biomedical engineers also design a plan on what equipment to bring to a hospital if it is updating its devices or opening new wings (departments). Abroad in Europe and USA, some also conduct Research and Development (R&D) which are tests on improving current medical equipment or operation schemes and of course design new equipment or improve them.

Job Opportunities

Now for employment chances, I'll be very frank with you, no: the opportunities are not as broad as that of CCE or Mechanical Engineering. Don't get me wrong, there are over 35 medical companies and over 500 hospitals in Lebanon in which you can work in, but in this field those with 3-5 years of experience are employed more than just frsh grads. So, you'll have a hard time landing a job once you graduate, but once you get it, you won't face any problems. If you are considering to work abroad, even more chances and opportunities are available in BME, but they require alot of years of experience (8+ years) especially in the Gulf region. Some exceptions can arise though. Since your BME degree is actually an EE/CCE degree, you can also work as an electrical engineer or computer communication engineer (in the union, you'll be considered an electrical engineer/computer communication engineer).

What I really want to say is that the market now is searching for CCE fresh grads and IT students, but too many students are already majoring in CCE it would at a certain point satisfy the market need (2 or 3 years later). A good option for you would be majoring in CCE and then working in the biomedical engineering field, where currently companies don't mind employing CCE students and with some exceptions EE students. If you select to do so, study CCE with minor in BME at AUB.

HOWEVER, since more and more BME students are graduating anually from UOB (max 10 students per year), LIU (max 25 students per year), Islamic Univeristy (max 20 students per year), and AUB (max 5 per year), the hospitals and medical companies are prefering to employ these students rather than CCE or EE majors.

As for abroad, especially in USA and Germany, the request for biomedical engineers actually matches that for CCE or EE engineers.

This year, the request for biomedical engineers in Lebanon was quite high (6 technical engineers and 8 sales engineers were requested for the past three months) and for the Gulf even higher (8 technical engineers and 16 sales engineers were requested for the past three months).

Salaries

Figures based on this year's business offers:

* Starting (fresh grad to 1-3 years experience): 800 - 1000$ local and Gulf; 1000-1500$ abroad
* Junior (3-10 years experience): 1200-1500$ local and Gulf; 1700-2000$ abroad
* Senior (10 years+ experience): 2000-2500% local and Gulf; 2000-3500$ abroad

Most high saleries are in field of sales, management, and software engineering for medical applications.

Personal Review

So it's really up to your interest (I was going to do CCE then work in the BME field, but I realized that I was bored by some of the CCE classes, so I chased BME courses and was exstatic that I majored in BME, especially with medical imaging, fascinating subject :)).

I would recommend that you check this website and this pdf guide for more information.

If anyone has further questions, please feel free to PM me.