Medicine by Design: The Practice and Promise of Biomedical Engineering

by Fen Montaigne

Book Overview

A heart that once beat erratically has regained its natural rhythm. A woman paralyzed by an automobile accident is now able to resume her favorite hobby. Physicians using a robotic surgeon named da Vinci perform lifesaving operations. These are some of the feats of biomedical engineering, one of the fastest-moving areas in medicine. In this exhilarating book, award-winning writer Fen Montaigne journeys through this little-known world, sharing the...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801883474
• ISBN13: 9780801883477
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.8" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Excellent book

This is a great non-technical introduction to those who are curious about the industry or who want to know more about Biomedical Engineering in general. The book is well-rounded, up-to-date as of 2006, and one of the only narrative books out there concerning BME. Its non-technical nature means it's accessible to everyone, engineering savvy or not. The author writes about BME as a series of vignettes, each revolving around a researcher in a particular field, a patient with a condition that was alleviated by biomedical engineering, a major player in the industry, or a developing technology. For those unware, the unique characteristic of Biomedical Engineering is that it spans all engineering and science disciplines. You can have an electrical engineer working on an MRI machine, a materials engineer working on artifical joints, a programmer creating bioinformatics algorithms to decipher genetic code, a biologist trying to grow tissues to remedy organ donor shortages, etc. And you can't forget the doctors out there who straddle the line between patient care and engineering new technologies to supplement patient care. Each chapter focuses on one of the BME sub-disciplines, such as tissue engineering, medical imaging, bioinformatics, implants, etc. Players in industry and academia are highlighted in narrative form as the author details the work of everyone from undergraduate students at Boston University using photonics to find tumors, to graduate students at UC San Diego using nanotechnology to research synthetic livers, to industry legends such as Earl Bakken, the founder of Medtronic. A few products are specifically highlighted such as Medtronic pacemakers, cardiac defibrillators, Minimed insulin pumps, Neurotech's encapsulated cell technology, and Intuitive's Da Vinci machine. Patients who have reaped the benefits of Biomedical Engineering advances are also interviewed and have their stories told. I recommend this book highly to engineering students who are unsure what industry they want to enter, high school seniors who are searching for a college major (if I knew about BME in college, I would have definately pursued it, too bad for me), future doctors who have an affinity for engineering and problem solving, and those who are curious about the field in general. It's an enjoyable read and afterwards those who are engineering savvy but seek the altruism typically associated with medicine might feel a spark to become involved in this field.