Biomedical engineers analyze and design solutions to problems in biology and medicine, with the goal of improving the quality and effectiveness of patient care.

INDUSTRY INFORMATION AND NECESSARY SKILLS:

Quick Facts: Biomedical Engineers
2012 Median Pay:$86,960 per year $41.81 per hour
Entry-Level Education: Bachelor’s degree
Number of Jobs, 2012:19,400
Job Outlook, 2012: 27% (Much faster than average)
Work Environment
Biomedical engineers work in manufacturing, universities, hospitals, research facilities of companies and educational and medical institutions, and government regulatory agencies. They usually work full time.
How to Become a Biomedical Engineer
Biomedical engineers typically need a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from an accredited program to enter the occupation. Alternatively, they can get a bachelor’s degree in a different field of engineering and then either get a graduate degree in biomedical engineering or get on-the-job training in biomedical engineering.
Job Outlook
Employment of biomedical engineers is projected to grow 27 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations. Demand will be strong because an aging population is likely to need more medical care and because of increased public awareness of biomedical engineering advances and their benefits.

CURRICULUM ACTIVITY

Student learning outcomes: As a result of this activity, students will be able to:

●Gain insight into the career and function of a biomedical engineer

●Better understand medical modeling and the impact that it has on health and medicine.

●Experience augmented reality with anatomical modeling, while taking on the role of how a medical professional could use this technology to increase proficiency and efficiency.

●Identify the anatomy and explain the physiology of the heart

Lesson Plan:

  1. (10 minutes) - Students will read an article about biomedical engineering (beginningh as bell work)
  2. (5 minutes) - Brief class discussion about the article to ensure student understanding
  3. (5 minutes) - Students will download and install the necessary app to their device
  4. (5 minutes) - Teacher led instruction and demonstration of how to use the device and app to display the augmented reality view of the heart. Additionally, students will be shown how to add/remove the various anatomical structures in the augmented reality view
  5. (20 minutes) - Working in partners, students will use the app to learn the placement and function of each of the heart’s anatomical structures
  6. (5 minutes) - Teacher led class discussion about how this type of augmented reality can not only help students, but also medical professionals. Continued discussion of how computer science plays a critical role in this type of health related tool.
  7. (5 minutes) - Students will complete an “exit ticket” asking for some of the heart’s structures and functions to be identified.

This activity will be used when looking at both specialized careers in computer science (health related computer science) and virtual and augmented reality as a division of computer science.