Program Educational Objectives | Learning and Research Experiences
Admissions | Core Courses | Elective Courses | Evaluation | Requirements

> Biomedical Engineering Program Faculty

Program Educational Objectives

The goal of biomedical engineers is to improve human health through advances in healthcare and medicine. This includes advancing our understanding of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of human injury, disease, and the health complications associated with aging. In this regard, we are living in an exciting time. In the last two decades or so we have witnessed, among numerous achievements, the decoding of the entire human genome, the birth of proteomic methods, the maturation of computerized tomography, dramatic advances in imaging and sensing technologies, and the culture of stem cells and advances in biomaterials which may enable us to engineer tissues and even organs. Altogether, these achievements have dramatically increased the potential for improvements in healthcare. However, most of these achievements have not yet led to any substantial improvement in human health. Addressing this problem constitutes a major challenge for biomedical engineers of the coming generation.

The difficulty in translating advances in biomedical research to improved healthcare is, in large part, due to the dramatic shift in the character of health care problems in industrialized nations. Chronic illness, rather than acute injury and disease, is now the dominant issue in healthcare, consuming the vast majority of healthcare dollars, personnel and facility usage. This situation will only be exacerbated over the coming decades with the aging of the population. As a result, improvements in our ability to prevent, diagnose and treat chronic illness has become the primary focus of the national healthcare agenda. Accordingly, the goal of the Biomedical Engineering (BME) Program at Binghamton University is to prepare graduate engineers to face these new 21st century challenges.

The last two decades have also been an exciting time in the field of mathematics and the physical sciences, and these advances are expected to play critical roles in our approach to chronic healthcare problems. Specifically, advances in our understanding of complex systems, that is, highly coupled, non-linear systems which give rise to emergent behaviors which are not evident in the behavior of the components of the system, provide us with a formal mechanism for addressing problems such as chronic illness. This is due to the fact that all biological systems are complex systems and their physiologic responses represent emergent behavior. The ability to model and analyze such systems will therefore be an essential skill for any biomedical engineer interested in working on current healthcare problems. Correspondingly, the BME program at Binghamton University provides the student with the opportunity to develop a deep understanding of: i) living systems from a complex systems perspective, ii) modeling techniques useful in addressing biomedical problems, iii) modern approaches to computer aided diagnostics, iv) data acquisition and analysis tools, and iv) the engineering design process pertaining to the development of modern health care products.

Learning and Research Experiences

The Program provides the student with access to considerable resources, including: i) a clinical engineering center and staff to assist in the conduct of clinical trials; ii) medical imaging facilities; iii) UNIX workstations equipped with graphic accelerator boards, iv) shared memory massively parallel computers; v) wet laboratories equipped with state of the art equipment for cell and tissue culture research, genomics research, proteomics research and biomaterials research; vi) lab animal resources for small animal research. In addition, students enrolled in the program have the opprotunity to collaborate with clinicians practicing at nearby medical facilities, including, Wilson, Lourdes, and Binghamton General Hospitals in Binghamton, the Upstate Medical Center, and the Bassett and Guthrie Clinics. Finally graduating students will have access to both technology transfer and incubation facilities for those interested to start enterprises based on their research.

The Biomedical Engineering program offers both Master's and Doctoral degrees. The scope of each degree is similar, but the depth of studies differs. Typically a Master's degree is completed within 1 to 2 years. Students take the core courses and undertake a research project related to the understanding, diagnostic or treatment of chronic illnesses. The degree prepares students for careers in the biotechnology industry, medical/healthcare centers, or providers of medical/healthcare technology. Doctoral students complement their core coursework with electives courses and research in a specific research area of the faculty. Through their research they will contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the medical or healthcare field. They will also develop a detailed understanding of the operation of the health care industry. Thus, in addition to being prepared for academic or industry careers related to medical technology, they will have the background necessary to pursue an entrepreneurial role in medical/healthcare technology. To assist students in pursuing new ventures, incubator space and technology transfer mechanisms are available.

Admissions

The BME program accepts students at both Bachelor's and Master's levels. The main criteria for admission are: a degree in engineering or equivalent, excellence of the academic records, and the appropriate knowledge base to enroll in the core courses. All admitted students should complete the core courses. However, students entering the program with a Master's degree may obtain courses equivalence if appropriately justified. Each case will be studied individually and permission will be granted by the Program Director.

Interested students should apply through the Graduate Admission Office. See instructions on this subject in the section Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science. The application package includes: transcripts, test scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), at least 2 letters of recommendation, and a one page statement indicating why the applicant wishes to pursue a graduate degree in Biomedical Engineering.

Additional information on the graduate school at Binghamton, and applications for graduate admissions, are available at the Binghamton University Graduate School.

Core Courses

The core courses are designed to provide graduate students with a common knowledge base in the main areas of research of the program faculty. This includes Cell, and Molecular Biology, the Modeling of Complex Biological Systems from a cellular to a social systems level, Computer Aided Medical Diagnostic, acquisition of biomedical data (spread across core courses), and Medical Engineering which covers the introduction to the development of products/processes for the U.S. health care market.

BIOL 513 Cell and Molecular Biology I

BIOL 514 Cell and Molecular Biology II

BME 502 Medical Engineering and Health Care
Overview of the cultural, economic, ethical, political, and regulatory, issues confronting the engineer introducing new products into the U.S. healthcare market in the 21st century.

BME 510 Modeling Complex Biological Systems
Modeling and analysis of the dynamics of complex biological systems using various means of formulation, from both a classical and a complex systems/self-organizing systems perspective.

BME 520 Computer Aided Medical Diagnostics
Development and implementation of new medical diagnostic algorithms using concepts derived from statistical learning theory. Emphasis is placed on the intelligent diagnosis derived from medical images, and proteomic, genomic, biochemical and physiological data sets.

BME 590 Graduate Seminar in Biomedical Engineering (1 credit × 2 semesters)
Introduction to ongoing research activity related to Biomedical Engineering, at Binghamton University and in the region, as well as issues relevant to biomedical research, such as ethical issues associated with animal and human research, conflicts of interest, replication studies, plagiarism, etc.

Elective Courses

The elective courses are aimed at preparing the students to undertake research in one of the specific areas supported by the program faculty. In addition to such courses, several service courses are offered which aim at assisting students in their introduction to the University and the Biomedical Engineering program (e.g., BME 501 Research Fundamentals, BME 545 Heuristic Problem Solving) as well as those which insure continued registration once the main course work is completed (e.g. BME 699 Dissertation Research, BME 700 continued registration).

BME 501 Research Fundamentals
Introduction to the principles of experimental design and the resources available on campus to assist in experimental studies.

BME 530 Biomolecular Techniques I
A laboratory and lecture course designed to cover theoretical principles, practical details and applications of basic experimental techniques routinely used in protein biochemistry and protein purification.

BME 531 Biomolecular Techniques II
An advanced laboratory and lecture course designed to train students in the fields of mass spectrometry, proteomics, and bioinformatics.

BME 540 Bioinformatics: Concepts and Applications
An introduction to Bioinformatics. Sources of biological data including genomic and protein arrays, analytical techniques (clustering, supervised learning, unsupervised learning, statistical measures, PCA, NLPCA, ICA, etc.) and various software and database resources.

BME 545 Heuristic Problem Solving
Explores the multi-faceted forces requisite to social, organizational, and scientific breakthrough, creativity, andproductive innovation, making use of active learning, affective teaching, and team-driven interactive simulation.

BME 550 Intellectual Property Law in Biomedicine
Introduction to U.S. patent, trademark and copyright law with a particular emphasis on contemporary issues in intellectual property law as it relates to advances in biology and medical research the development of the biotechnology industry.

BME 560 Human Cardiovascular Regulation
Influence of gravity and muscle activity on fluid distributions within the human body and the adaptive processes involved in supporting upright stance and activity. Review of the clinical implications of orthostatic intolerance and chronic hypotension.

BME 572 Multivariate Statistics
Introduction to the multivariate statistical methods necessary for analyzing responses arising in complex systems, such as molecular, physiological, or organizational systems.

BME 580 Human Physiology
An introduction to the major organ systems of the body with an emphasis on regulatory processes and interactions with other body systems. The course provides the students with a basic understanding of the prevalent theories of physiology and pathophysiology and the application of these theories to health concerns relevant to biomedical engineering.

BME 592 Teaching Practicum
Development of effective educational techniques under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

BME 597 Independent Study
Opportunity for students to undertake independent study under the direction of Biomedical Engineering Program faculty.

BME 599 Thesis Research
Research activity for Master's candidates under the direction of biomedical engineering program faculty.

BME 600 Biomedical Applications of Soft Computing
Economic, ethical, legal, logistical, and technical problems associated with implementing advanced decision support systems in modern medicine and health care. Risk analysis and issues relating to the influence of over and under diagnosis, and physician and public perception will be covered, as well the success of various technologies that have been introduced.

BME 610 Advanced Topics in Complex Biomedical Systems
Development of advanced understanding of complex biomedical systems through discussion on cutting-edge research in complex systems, including complex network, evolutionary medicine, and organization behavior theories.

BME 620 Modeling Bioelectric Phenomenon I
Introduction to models describing the generation of electrical impulses by cells, intercellular impulse transmission, impulse propagation at the organ scale, the interaction of electromagnetic waves with tissue and the scattering of electromagnetic waves by biological structures. Mathematical methods for numerical treatment of the differential equations associated with the models.

BME 621 Modeling Bioelectric Phenomenon II
Extends the model developments initiated in BME 621 through the study and implementation of more elaborate geometric and modeling techniques. Use of the developed models to simulate realistic pathologic conditions.

BME 680 Advanced Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering
Placeholder course to permit opportunity for department faculty, and as well, visiting scientists and faculty, to teach a topics course at the advanced level.

BME 697 Advanced Independent Study
Reading and research on special advanced topics under direction of biomedical engineering program faculty member. Student must obtain consent of professor, who then determines description of study program, number of credits, frequency of meetings, location.

BME 698 Pre-Dissertation Research
Reserved for exploratory research oriented toward dissertation.

BME 699 Dissertation Research
Research for and preparation of dissertation. Registration restricted to those admitted to candidacy.

BME 700 Continuous Registration
Required for maintenance of matriculated status in graduate program when no other course taken. No credit toward graduate degree requirements.

Evaluation

The program is relatively flexible, allowing students to orient their research in an area of interest as they progress in their training. This means that they can elect courses from a wide selection, and can take them at the appropriate time. To provide such flexibility and at the same time insure adequate monitoring of progress, students go through a sequence of evaluations. These include fulfilling a learning contract, writing a thesis proposal, presenting a research summary in an open colloquium, submitting a dissertation, and finally, defending the dissertation. Timing and content of each of these evaluations is described in the graduate program handbook, a copy of which may be obtained from the Program Director, or from the Watson Graduate Office. The overall evaluation procedure is briefly described below.

Shortly after admission students will seek support from a BME faculty advisor, and then form a guidance committee. In collaboration with this committee, the student will formulate a learning contract which mainly indicates course work and skills that will be developed over the next 2 years. To ensure continued enrollment in the program, students should maintain a B average in their courses. Once the core courses are completed the guidance committee will evaluate the student's performance including how he/she fulfilled his/her learning contract. At this point the student will have three options: i) terminating enrollment and graduating with a Master's degree without thesis, ii) writing a thesis and graduating with a Master's degree, and iii) pursuing further studies at the doctoral level. If the student elects to pursue doctoral level studies, he/she will have to pass a qualifying examination which tests general knowledge. Upon successful completion of the examination the student is admitted to candidacy for a doctoral degree in Biomedical Engineering. Then a thesis committee, which encompasses the expertise necessary to appropriately advise the student in their subsequent research, is formed. Within 1 year of passing the qualifying examination, the student will present and defend a thesis proposal, with presentation in an open colloquium. If the proposal is judged satisfactory, the student will undertake their proposed research, submit a dissertation, and finally defend their dissertation in an open colloquium.

Minimum Requirements for Graduation

Depending upon the degree sought, minimum requirements include course work, fulfillment of a learning contract, demonstrating an ability to teach, passing a qualifying examination, and publishing Master's or/and Doctoral thesis with oral defense.