MSc Biomedical Engineering

You'll be provided with instruction in key areas of human anatomy, physiology and cell biology relevant to the advanced study of bio and clinical engineering. You'll gain an understanding of normal biological function and control as derived from scientific and clinical evidence.

The class aims to educate you to use your knowledge of normal function to better understand pathology, disease diagnosis and treatment.

This class aims to:

• provide an introduction to the philosophy, ethics and methodology of research
• outline the role that the bioengineer plays in the solution of clinical problems
• provide training in the principles, assessment and application of safety procedures  in areas relevant to medical physics and biomedical engineering
• engender an awareness of the importance of regulatory issues in medical device design and manufacturing

This class aims to give the student a thorough introduction to the use of electronic circuits for the pre-conditioning, acquisition and display of biomedical signals and to provide an understanding of the components required in a basic biomedical measurement device. 

This class aims to give a detailed description of the principles and applications of a number of the most widely used biomedical instrumentation systems and devices found in the modern hospital environment.

This course will enable students to understand the diagnostic and research applications of the various instrumentation-related techniques currently available and to appreciate their limitations.

This class aims to provide you with a tool set of analytical skills to enable you to undertake valid biomechanical analyses of human movement.  This includes the science, engineering and mathematical skill to produce kinematic and kinetic analyses of human movement and the external and internal load actions experienced by humans during activity. The class will provide generic analysis skills but examples will focus primarily on human gait.  

This class aims to demonstrate to you how biomechanical principles can be applied to the design, manufacture, fitting procedures and evaluation of prostheses, orthoses and other devices externally applied to the body of patients in need of rehabilitation.

It is hoped that you should be able to join manufacturing companies, research groups or clinical teams responsible for the delivery of such systems.

You'll learn to describe the developments and advances in regenerative/repair medicine in terms of

• Source of cells
• Cell expansion/seeding and bioreactor technology
• Tissue scaffolds: design criteria, fabrication and characterisation
• Clinical status of replacement tissues and organs

This class aims to provide you with the ability to appraise the role of biomechanics and biomechanical measurement techniques in the development and evaluation of clinical practice in rehabilitation and in the production and management of sports injuries. The class will also allow you to assess the role of biomechanics and biomechanical measurement in the improvement of human function and the optimising of sports performance.  The class will focus on orthopaedic and neurological issues.

(for students taking Engineering Science but who do not have the prerequisite background in Anatomy & Physiology)

This class aims to provide you with the basic knowledge of the anatomical structure of the major body systems, together with an understanding of their physiological functioning. This knowledge is fundamental to understand and to develop specific topics that will be taught later in the course.

This class aims to:

• provide fundamental information on the properties of synthetic biomaterials, and how these are evaluated experimentally and from the literature
• outline how material properties are influenced by methods of processing
• explore with the aid of appropriate examples what is meant by biocompatibility; provide an overview of the host responses to and interactions with biomaterials, and how these interactions are assessed and influenced by surface properties
• introduce the principles of toxicology, identify the major toxic interactions with foreign chemicals and the protective mechanisms which enable us to survive most toxic insults. Assessment of  the safety of materials according to the International Standards will be discussed

This class aims to:

• give students a broad overview of cardiovascular devices used in the clinical setting for the treatment of a range of clinical conditions
• demonstrate and develop an understanding of the clinical, design and regulatory challenges involved in developing devices for this clinical sector
• offer some insight into the pathologies underlying the need for cardiovascular device technologies

This module aims to provide students with the evidence and rationale for embedding technology into rehabilitation practice considering the technological, design and cultural barriers to adoption.

The module will teach the following:

• broad principles of rehabilitation including strengthening, flexibility, neuroplasticity and motivation (3 weeks)
• application of design techniques (e.g. user centred design) to rehabilitation technology (1 week)
• the gamification of rehabilitation activities, role of competition and fun (1 week)
• principles of motor learning (1 week)
• body worn sensors to provide movement feedback (0.5 weeks)
• virtual reality in rehabilitation (0.5 weeks)
• robotics in rehabilitation (0.5 weeks)
• brain Computer interface technology (0.5 weeks)
• barriers to adoption (1 week)
• case studies from neurological and musculoskeletal conditions. (2 weeks)

On completion of the module you're expected to be able to:

• justify the use of rehabilitation technologies within a modern health service
• apply understanding of rehabilitation principles to the design of technologies
• analyse the design features of rehabilitation technologies
• appraise currently technologies within a specific area of rehabilitation in terms of efficacy and usability

This module aims to provide experience of using numerical modelling tools, in particular Matlab, in a Biomedical Engineering context. For those with no knowledge of matlab, some pre-class preparatory work will be required and expected.

Case studies will be presented from the departmental research portfolio that require the use of numerical modelling. These case studies will be explained in detail, together with a methodology of the required numerical modelling to answer the research question. Students will be expected to write their own code to answer the research question, to appropriately graphically present results and to interpret the results in context.

On completion of the module you're expected to be able to:

• design numerical modelling tools to solve research-related problems in the field of Biomedical Engineering
• create appropriate methods of data presentation of structured data
• interpret numerical solutions to address research question(s) in the context of the presented case studies

Haemodynamics is that branch of hydraulics which concerns the flow of blood in arteries; and insofar as the laws of fluid mechanics may be applied to the study of blood flow in arteries, knowledge of the structural and functional properties of the heart and circulation, and the flow characteristics of blood, is essential if these equations are to be applied appropriately. In presenting the fluid mechanics of the circulation in terms that are familiar to students of mechanical and electrical engineering, the module aims to give students an insight into the complexities of blood flow, and how the laws of fluid mechanics relate to the flow of blood in health and disease, and the design of cardiovascular prostheses and devices, in particular. The basic principles underlying the measurement of blood pressure and flow will be explored in relation the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

On completion of the module you're expected to be able to:

• identify appropriate governing equations and apply them to obtain solutions to clinical problems relating to the flow of blood in the body and in cardiovascular devices
• relate the physical properties of the vessel wall and whole blood to their structure and composition (visco-elastic behaviour; the role of formed elements of blood, etc.)
• understand the principles of operation of instrumentation used to measure blood pressure and flow, including the rheological properties of whole blood

This class aims to provide an opportunity for you to experience the challenges and rewards of sustained, independent study in a topic of their own choice in the general field of Biomedical Engineering.

It will involve you in a number of processes which include:

• justification of the selected topic
• selecting, devising and applying appropriate methods and techniques
• anticipating and solving problems which arise
• displaying knowledge of background literature
• evaluating and reporting the conclusions of the study

The project may take the form of an extended literature review or involve experimental work. This project work will have been supported by a compulsory research methods module and specialist knowledge classes throughout the year designed to assist with technical aspects of methodology and analysis.