Academic Bulletin

College of Engineering - Undergraduate
www.miami.edu/engineering

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING - Dept. Code: BME

• Mission Statement | Program Description | Departmental Honors | Educational Objectives | Degree Programs | B.S. Biomedical Engineering - Electrical Concentration | B.S. Biomedical Engineering - Mechanical Concentration | B.S. Biomedical Engineering - Premed Concentration | B.S. in any of the 3 Concentrations & M.S. in Biomedical Engineering

INTRODUCTION

Biomedical engineering is a field where engineering principles and techniques are applied to the life sciences and medicine. It covers a wide spectrum of activities from the development of artificial organs and limbs, tissue engineering, implantable medical devices, biomedical instrumentation, computing in medical research and diagnosis, signal and image processing, clinical engineering, rehabilitation engineering, to cardiovascular, neurological, respiratory and flow studies.

Although Biomedical Engineering has been a graduate program at the University of Miami for more than thirty years, the Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering has been awarded since 1993. This program was designed to offer the interested student an opportunity to integrate knowledge in engineering and in the life sciences over a four year period while also developing a set of practical skills.

Biomedical Engineering is a field in which engineering principles and techniques are applied to the life sciences and medicine. It covers a wide spectrum of activities from the development of artificial organs and limbs, implantable medical devices, biomedical instrumentation, computing in medical research and diagnosis, signal and image processing, clinical engineering, rehabilitation engineering, and cardiovascular, neurological, respiratory, tissue mechanics and flow studies. The diagnostic and therapeutic tools available to the physician entering the twenty-first century represent complex and intricate applications of engineering.

Opportunities for quality education extend beyond the classroom. The small-class environment and the open-door policy of the faculty foster information exchange. The Biomedical Engineering Society sponsors speakers presenting aspects of the biomedical industry and entrepreneurships-an excellent opportunity to learn about employment.

Graduates of the biomedical engineering undergraduate program may seek employment in industry or continue their studies either in graduate school or in a professional school in medicine, law or business. The biomedical engineering undergraduate program is accredited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology.

The Department of Biomedical Engineering also offers graduate courses leading to the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.

Qualified students may apply for the combined BS/MS program. Details are provided following the curricula for the BS degrees.

The College offers a dual major in Biomedical Engineering. In order to obtain the dual major in Biomedical Engineering, the student will have to obtain, in parallel, a major in one of the fundamental engineering programs, plus 24 credit-hours of course work, including 18 credits of required course work and 6 credits of elective course work from the lists given below. Of this total of 24 credits, at least 12 have to be at the level of 400 and above.

The Biomedical Engineering courses are open to students with background in mathematics, physics and chemistry upon approval of their respective department.

The required courses for the dual major are:

BME 335. Biomaterials I                          3 credits
BME 375. Biomechanics I                        3 credits
BME 440. Biomedical Measurements          4 credits
BME 480. Biomedical Instrumentation        3 credits
BME 501. Unified Medical Sciences            3 credits
BME 502. Unified Medical Sciences II         3 credits

The electives are to be chosen from the BME course list.

Mission Statement

The mission of the biomedical engineering program is to prepare students to become knowledgeable and skilled engineers with an understanding of the ethical and other professional aspects of biomedical engineering. Design skills and an ability to work both independently and as part of a team are emphasized.

Program Description

The Biomedical Engineering program at the University of Miami has three major goals to achieve via the implementation of three parallel concentrations. Each one provides a broad foundation in the basic sciences and in engineering while offering special courses to allow the students to focus on specific career related subjects. The three concentrations are Electrical (E), Mechanical (M), and Premedical (P). The goals are: 1. Prepare the students in all three concentrations for graduate or professional studies in relation to engineering. 2. Enable the students in the Premed concentration to satisfy the requirements for medical schools while thoroughly exposing them to the major areas in BME. 3. Prepare the students for immediate employment as engineers in the biomedical devices and diagnostics industry as contributors to the economy. In striving to achieve these goals, the objective of the faculty is to provide all graduates with the mathematical, investigational, and design tools required to formulate problems accurately, generate alternative solutions, evaluate those alternatives, and present the best solutions to research, development and economic problems. Superior students are prepared for graduate studies or medical school. The teaching laboratories meet current program needs and are constantly being improved. Equipment and experiments are geared to provide instruction in the areas of biomechanics, tissue mechanics, instrumentation, biomedical optics and other areas. The curriculum includes required courses in mathematics and in the physical and life sciences that ensure a firm scientific background, while advanced departmental courses provide for specialization. Required courses in the humanities and social sciences give students the social, ethical and ecological awareness needed in their profession. The courses are designed with the prerequisite structure in mind so that students have to draw from previously acquired knowledge to complete the upper level course requirements successfully.

The engineering design experience is interwoven in the curriculum throughout the students four years of study. The students then enroll in 23 mandatory BME credits (Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Biomedical Measurements, Mathematical Analysis in BME, Biomedical Transport Phenomena, Biomedical Signal Processing and Biomedical Instrumentation) as juniors and seniors. During the senior year each student is involved in a major design experience through a year-long Senior Design Project. It is a capstone project where the students pool all their knowledge and previous design experience into one major project integrating the various components of the curriculum. Students prepare written and oral presentations. They also select two or three technical electives to pursue their individual professional interests.

Technical Entrepreneurship is an alternative to the Senior Design Project. In this two-semester sequence the students form entrepreneurial teams of 4 to 6 members to design and develop new products. They also work on the business aspects of the project. This program was established with a grant from the National Collegiate Innovators and Inventors Alliance (NCIIA) in 1999 and it is currently supported by additional grants from NCIIA.

Voluntary participation in ongoing research and development projects within the department’s laboratories, or on technical problems within the medical research laboratories, or at industrial firms are strongly encouraged. Communication is emphasized through requirements for oral presentation and written technical reports in many of the BME courses, in the Senior Design Project, in the Technical Entrepreneurship sequence and in the special laboratory experience. These activities provide the graduates with valuable practical experience and communications skills while studying Biomedical Engineering at the University of Miami.

DEPARTMENTAL HONORS

Upon request departmental honor is noted in a student’s diploma and transcript upon fulfillment of the requirements specified in the College Bulletin.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

The educational objectives of the biomedical engineering program at the University of Miami are to graduate engineers who:

1.  have a sound background in the fundamentals of engineering, physical and life sciences, and are prepared to practice biomedical engineering in the areas of bioelectrical and biomechanical engineering.
2.  have mastered the skills and knowledge expected by the biomedical industry.
3.  are prepared to enter graduate and professional degree programs, as well as other careers.

DEGREE PROGRAMS

The department offers one degree program with three concentrations: the Premed graduates are prepared for studies in medicine or related fields. The Electrical and Mechanical Concentrations graduates must be prepared to carry out engineering tasks in industry or in graduate work in their specific area of concentration.

A tabular listing of the course requirements for the degree Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering is shown below for each of three concentrations:

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ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
Electrical Concentration (135 credits)

* To be selected from lists of approved People and Society (PS)/Humanities and Arts (HA) electives found in this Bulletin in the College of Engineering section.

** Technical Electives are chosen from the BME course offerings (300 level and above) with the approval of the advisor. Any other courses selected need to be approved by the advisor and the chairperson.

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BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
Mechanical Concentration (135 credits)

* To be selected from lists of approved People and Society (PS)/Humanities and Arts (HA) electives found in this Bulletin in the College of Engineering section.

** Technical Electives are chosen from the BME course offerings (300 level and above) with the approval of the advisor. Any other courses selected need to be approved by the advisor and the chairperson.

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BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
Premed Concentration 135 credits

* To be selected from lists of approved People and Society (PS)/Humanities and Arts (HA) electives found in this Bulletin in the College of Engineering section.

** Technical Electives are chosen from the BME course offerings (300 level and above) with the approval of the advisor. Any other courses selected need to be approved by the advisor and the chairperson.

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BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
(Any of the three Concentrations) AND
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

• Juniors from any of the three BME Concentrations are invited to apply for admission to the combined BS-MS in Biomedical Engineering program, who have maintained at least a 3.0 CGPA.

• Those, who are accepted into this accelerated program, must maintain at least a 3.0 CGPA and a minimum of a 3.0 GPA for the final 30 credits to meet the requirements of the Graduate School.

• The participants are excused from BME 401/402 Senior Design I and II, but are required to complete BME 605/606 Master Design Project I and II.

• If a student needs to withdraw from the BS/MS BME program then all the requirements for the specific BS BME Concentration must be completed for graduation with the BS BME degree.

• The curriculum is altered only for the fourth year by the elimination of 1 credit for BME 401 during the first semester and 2 credits for BME 402 during the second semester.

• A 3 credit Technical Elective is added for the second semester.

• The 6 credits of Technical electives earned during the second term of the fourth year are counted toward the required 30 credits for the MS degree.

• The curriculum for the fifth year is shown below.

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