INNOVATION May-June 2012

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New ProgramWill Contribute to Medical Training and Research in BC

Dr Stephanie Willerth PEng (left) and Kathleen Kolehmainen examine stem cells inside of a tissue culture hood.

UVic Photo Services.

Dr Stephanie Willerth PEng

Compared with conventional engineering programs, biomedical engineering students will have a wider choice of elective courses. Depending on their choice of electives, biomedical engineering graduates will have a solid background in the core aspects of either electrical or mechanical engineering. Additionally, students gain real world biomedical engineering experience through the faculty’s mandatory Co-op program. Program graduates may seek professional licensing with APEGBC, and accreditation by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board will be sought once The University of Victoria has ongoing research efforts in biomedical engineering spanning all three departments in the Faculty of Engineering. Its diverse research portfolio includes the development of biomedical sensors, medical image processing, health informatics, human-computer interaction and tissue engineering. The university is also home to the unique organization, CanAssist, which develops assistive technologies for people with disabilities. CanAssist provides design projects for the new biomedical engineering program and also hires engineering co-op students. Our engineering faculty also have ongoing collaborations with the Division of Medical Sciences—the research component associated with the Island Medical Program located at the University of Victoria. Biosensors – One of the major areas of interest in biomedical engineering research involves the development of devices that can sense changes in biological systems and provide feedback in an easy to understand manner. At the University of Victoria, a number of researchers are working the program has its first set of graduates. Current Biomedical Research

Biomedical engineering applies engineering principles to problems in medicine, leading to overall improvements in our health care. Biomedical engineers often interact with health care professionals such as physicians, nurses, therapists and technicians and can apply their skills to a wide range of problems, including designing medical instruments, devices and software; integrating data and specifications from numerous technical sources to develop new medical procedures; or conducting cutting edge research. As the need for high quality, affordable healthcare increases, so will the demand for professionals trained in biomedical engineering. For example, the US government projects that biomedical engineering will be the fastest Starting in Fall 2012, the University of Victoria will offer undergraduate students the opportunity to enroll in an innovative stand-alone degree program in biomedical engineering, supported by a collaborative effort between the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. The eight-academic- semester program exposes students to an engineering based approach to biological systems, starting with the first semester of their second year. A unique feature of the program is that in second year students will learn about biological systems at the cellular level and the organ systems level through quantitative analysis following engineering principles. Then, in their third year, they participate in a biomedical engineering design course, applying their skills to a specific biomedical engineering- related project. In the third and fourth years, students chose from a number of biomedical and technical electives. growing profession over the next ten years. A New Undergraduate Program

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