Department of Biomedical Engineering

Ted A. Conway, Ph.D., Head

Degree Programs

Professors
Ted A. Conway, Ph.D., biomedical imaging, biomechanics, rehabilitative engineering, viscoelastic and viscoplastic mechanics.

Kunal Mitra, Ph.D., short pulse laser-based systems, biomedical imaging, therapy of cancer/tumor, bio-heat transfer modeling, radiation transport modeling, ablation of hard and soft tissues, nanobiosensors, cellular interrogation.

David Joseph Weldon, M.D., Clinical University Professor, human physiology, biomedical engineering applications in clinical medicine, health policy, government relations.

Assistant Professors
Christopher A. Bashur, Ph.D., cardiovascular tissue engineering, scaffold fabrication and characterization, cell-microenvironment interactions, modulating graft-induced host response.

Alessandra Carriero, Ph.D., bone multi-scale mechanics and mechanoadaptation, prediction/prevention of bone fractures and deformities, new treatments for skeletal pathologies.

Michael B. Fenn, Ph.D., Raman spectroscopy, cancer biology, metabolomics, nano-medicine.

Mehmet Kaya, Ph.D., ultrasound imaging and therapeutics, cardiac and vascular mechanics, biomedical signal processing, bio-sensors and biomedical instrumentation, electrophysiology, computer modeling for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Carlos Martino, Ph.D., elastic properties of materials, noncontact electromagnetic excitation of acoustic modes, low-level static magnetic field effects, frequency and magnetic field-dependence, radical pairs in oxidative metabolism.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Department of Biomedical Engineering is to pursue excellence in biomedical engineering education, research and innovation by imparting knowledge for improving human health. This will be accomplished by offering innovative educational programs that integrate biological sciences and engineering, and apply engineering tools, methods and practices to solve technical issues in biology and medicine. Graduates of the programs are highly skilled biomedical engineers who understand the ethical, social and economic implications of their work and will be able to fill diverse professional roles in industry, graduate school and medical professions.

The aging of the population and a growing focus on health issues will drive demand for better medical devices and equipment designed by biomedical engineers. Along with the demand for more sophisticated medical equipment and procedures, an increased concern for cost-effectiveness will boost demand for biomedical engineers.

Research

Current research activities are in the following areas:

Lasers for cancer detection and therapy: Research is ongoing to develop ultra-short pulse laser-based system for early cancer detection and therapy. This technique is non-invasive, fast and safe compared to existing imaging and treatment modalities.

Medical imaging: Current projects involve the application of advanced signal and image processing to enhance medical imagery. A method has been developed that reduces noise from computed tomography (CT) induced when the x-ray dose is decreased, allowing CT scans to be safer for patients. A similar approach has been used for nuclear medicine imagery.

Neural engineering: Research is focused on application of stimulators to the central and peripheral nervous system to restore neurological function following stroke, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy or intractable pain.

Vascular tissue engineering: The focus of this research is elucidating how cells interact with their microenvironment, such as topography and scaffold composition, and using this knowledge to develop strategies to produce tissue engineered grafts. The goal is to overcome the current challenges to producing a viable replacement for occluded coronary or peripheral arteries. The research will involve several of the steps required for producing a clinical product, including scaffold fabrication, cell culture analysis and the initial steps of translation.

Orthopedic biomechanics: Current research is focused on developing novel modeling methods of viscoelasticity in biological structures such as bone and cartilage. This project will aid in the understanding of post-surgery stress distribution in the repaired clavicle, aimed at reducing fracture re-occurrence.

Bio-sensors: Ongoing activities include biosensor development for non-invasive glucose monitoring using artificial neural network discriminator.

Cardiovascular engineering: This research is focused on developing innovative techniques and devices for the detection and therapy of cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial ischemia, cardiac arrhythmia, hypertension and hemorrhagic shock, and procedures including angioplasty/stent placement and hemodynamic monitoring. One example is using ultrasound technology, contrast agents and stem cells to repair vascular damage caused by stent placement.

Center for Medical Materials and Photonics: Biomedical engineering faculty and international collaborators have initiated an innovative center for medical materials and photonics that provides world-leading programs in third generation bioactive materials including bioactive materials for regenerative medicine, load bearing orthopedic and dental devices, intelligent wound care systems and materials for sports medicine repair and reconstruction; and medical photonics including laser and bio-Raman-based cancer detection and therapeutics, human cell-based screening for toxicology, pharmaceutical and biomaterials screening, and patient specific diagnosis and therapy analyses. The center provides education and research opportunities at the undergraduate, graduate and post-doctorate levels.