The fields of biology and medicine have profited enormously from technological advances in mechanical engineering. Mechanical engineers work mostly in the biomedical industry, where they employ fundamental engineering concepts to create helpful instruments, equipment, and systems. Various mechanical engineering courses help aspirants to gain the necessary knowledge about Biomedical Engineering.
Applications
Biomedical Engineering is a multidisciplinary subject. In biomedical device development, mechanical engineering principles such as forward dynamics, inverse kinematics, fluid mechanics, material characterization tests, thermodynamics, and other failure approaches such as fracture mechanics are widely used.
Biomechanics
Biomechanics is the study of therapeutic devices such as exoskeletons and prostheses using solid mechanics and engineering mechanics concepts. These prostheses and orthotics let paraplegic and hemiplegic individuals move about. As a result, several colleges that offer biomechanics specializations refer to it as “rehabilitation engineering.” The reliable determination of the fracture toughness of human bones has been an exciting field of biomechanics study. This might aid surgeons in devising new bone fracture treatment procedures.
Biomechanics study encompasses a wide range of topics, including:
Mechanics of injury: Imperial College London’s Center for Blast Injury studies cognitive impairment caused by brain injury and develops mechanobiological algorithms to help amputees regenerate their nerves more quickly.
Biomechanics in sports: Understanding how athletes move to avoid musculoskeletal problems is the goal of sports biomechanics. Consider how Ishant Sharma needed support from a coach to keep his balance after a rapid bowl delivery if you’re a novice attempting to grasp how biomechanics may be applied to sports. A slight change in batting stance might assist a hitter in eliminating a weakness, such as short pitches.
Organ-On-A-Chip
At the microscopic level, mechanobiology is concerned with cell mechanics and biological processes. Mechanobiology research includes the use of microfluidics for efficient medication delivery. Understanding the cellular reaction to mechanical forces is the goal of mechanobiology.
Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
Human tissue may be used to test a medicine in-vitro, which is a superior strategy (in the lab). This is when the term “tissue engineering” enters the picture. The goal of Tissue Engineering is to create viable tissues in vitro, such as liver cells or brain cells.
To accurately reproduce the activity of neurons in the human brain in the laboratory, we must create a similar environment in our bodies. In the lab, collagen and agarose protein hydrogels may be utilized to simulate the human body’s environment. As a result, we grow nerve cells in these hydrogels and track their development, proliferation, and other characteristics.
However, before employing these hydrogels, it is necessary to understand their material characteristics, such as viscosity, elastic modulus, gelation temperature, and so on. Rheology ideas learned in fluid mechanics class come in help in this situation. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine are frequently used interchangeably. Almost every major university in the world is researching stem cells and 3D bioprinting. All this is possible with the invention of medical technology. Aspirants are pursuing masters in medical technology to enter into the Biomedical Engineering field.
Materials, mechanics, systems and control, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, design, and production are all areas of mechanical engineering that provide a good basis for bioengineering. Always choose the course that fits right for you.