• Question: What inspired you to go into biomedical engineering?

    Asked by laceyc to Amit, Joanne, Martin, Paige on 11 Mar 2012. This question was also asked by phillipsc.
    • Photo: Amit Pujari

      Amit Pujari answered on 11 Mar 2012:

      My undergraduate degree is in Instrumentation and Control Engineering (combination of electrical and electronic engineering). In the third and final year of my degree course, I came across a module named ‘biomedical engineering’. I was fascinated by the subject! I was amazed to discover that our heart behaves like a four chamber pump. I was surprised to know that our body generates electricity though in tiny amounts. When you tap into this electricity (signal) near your heart, it tells you quite a lot about your heart’s working; its rhythm, whether it is beating faster or slower due to any problems.

      I was inspired to learn that engineering can be used to know more about human body. Engineering can be used to treat or cure diseases. Therefore, engineering can be used for improving health and well being. From that point onwards, I decided to opt for a career in Biomedical engineering. Simply, I wanted to do something useful and Biomedical engineering seemed like a right choice.

    • Photo: Joanne Davies

      Joanne Davies answered on 22 Mar 2012:

      I’m not in biomedical engineering but I studied Instrumentation and control like Amit, only mine was specific to industrial applications. I also studied how the heart works in Biology, so it appears that engineers study the same basics to begin with and then go on to specialise in certain areas.

      Another good question from you again laceyc.. 🙂

      (Amit – I was sorry to see you go mate :()

    • Photo: Paige Brown

      Paige Brown answered on 22 Mar 2012:

      Hi laceyc!!!!

      I was inspired by a female college student that I got to know at an engineering open day at a university close to my home in Indiana. She designed artificial hearts!!! An artificial heart is a mechanical heart that can replace someone’s natural heart that is failing. She got to travel around the world helping doctors and surgeons implant her designed heart into patients!!!!! I thought, how cool!!!! The doctors might not know how the heart had to be wired inside or how it worked mechanically, so they needed an engineers help to implant the heart in people!!! That is what really inspired me.

      Paige

    • Photo: Martin Wallace

      Martin Wallace answered on 22 Mar 2012:

      When I was at university I studied a bio-medical engineering course, and realised that I would really like to get involved in this, as it was a way I could use the knowledge and skills that I had to help people who were in need.
      I learned about designing artificial hearts and replacement joints and found it really interesting. I also conducted my final year project designing part of a robot that physiotherapists could use to help people who had suffered strokes. It was so successful the NHS are still using it!
      I feel so proud that things that I have worked on are actually helping people recover. It might even be the case that something I have designed has saved someone’s life – which is an incredible feeling!

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