Master of Science (Biomedical Engineering)
OverviewAdmission RequirementsProgramme Structure
Courses of StudyContent of Courses Application Contact
This M.Sc. Programme is jointly offered by Nanyang Technological University and Singapore General Hospital.
Biomedical Engineeing (BME) is the application of engineering to biology and medicine, involving:
·
Engineering instrumentation for the accurate collection of anatomical and physiological data;
·
Signal and image processing of this data;
· Engineering analysis and modelling of biomedical phenomena and processes, such as the function of normal and diseased organs and systems;
· Engineering of prostheses, orthoses, organ-assist devices, artificial organs and tissue engineering.
Its aim is to improve human health through cross-disciplinary activities that integrate the engineering sciences with the biomedical sciences and clinical practice. BME entails:
· Acquisition of new knowledge and understanding of living systems through the innovative application of experimental and analytical engineering techniques.
· Development of new devices, analysis of biomedical processes and systems, and the development of algorithms for better assessment of medical practice and more efficient health care delivery.
Biomedical engineers may work as part of a multidisciplinary team in hospitals, industry, or academia. In the hospital, a biomedical engineer may undertake a variety of roles, including:
· Maintaining and repairing medical equipment.
· Providing customised devices to meet clinical needs.
· Facilitating diagnosis by signal processing of physiological data (e.g. ECG and EEG) and image processing of biomedical images (Radiography, Ultrasound or Computed Tomography or Magnetic Resonance Imaging).
· Using biomedical engineering analyses to quantify the effects and degree of a patient's condition.
· Developing innovative rehabilitation devices and procedures for disabled patients.
· Applying logistics and management principles to ensure efficient, cost effective and timely patient care.
In industry, biomedical engineers work as part of a multidisciplinary team including biologists, physicians, lawyers and regulatory experts to:
· Research, develop and test new medical devices and components.
· Ensure the safe and consistent manufacture of medical devices and medicines.
· Develop standard testing methods for biomedical devices.
· Perform failure mode and effects analysis of monitoring, diagnostic, rehabilitation devices and prostheses.
· Assist with preparing technical and marketing materials.
· Work with researchers and manufacturers to ensure that devices can be manufactured.
In Singapore, biomedical engineers also work in research institutes, universities and polytechnics. Well-trained biomedical engineers usually have a strong background in engineering, biology and medicine, combined with a specific area of expertise, so that they can interact effectively with doctors and healthcare providers. This M.Sc.
programme is designed to provide a well-rounded knowledge of the core subjects of biomedical engineering, and is tailored to prepare students for a professional biomedical engineering career through specialised elective courses, in addition to a research project.
Candidates must possess a good Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Production, Electrical or Electronic Engineering, Applied Science, Sciences, Medical Sciences or other equivalent qualifications. Preference will be given to those with relevant working or postgraduate experience. An average TOEFL score of 570 for graduates from universities with non-English medium of instruction.
This programme is conducted on a semester basis. Candidates are now offered with 2 Options of Study:
Option 1 : Coursework and Dissertation
Candidates are required to complete 8 courses, with a combination of 4 core
courses and 4 electives, and submit a dissertation on a project.
Option 2: Coursework only
Candidates are required to complete 10 courses, with a combination of 4 core
courses, 5 electives, and a compulsory course entitled ‘ Independent Study' .
Each course is covered in 39 hours and usually consists of 13 lectures of 3 hours each. Classes are usually held in the evenings on week days. Examinations are held during office-hours at the end of each semester.
The programme of study can be completed within a minimum of 1 year for full-time students and 2 years for part-time students and a maximum of 2 years for full-time students and 4 years for part-time student.
1) Core
Courses
The following four courses must be taken by all students :
M6511 Anatomy and Physiology
M6514 Biomaterials
M6503 Biomedical Instrumentation
M6506 Clinical
and Health Services Engineering
2) Electives
The four electives shall be selected from the following, of which at least two of the
courses must be from Elective Module A :
Elective Module A
M6522 Life Support Engineering
M6525 Medical Informatics & Telemedicine
M6526 Rehabilitation Engineering
M6530 Biomaterials II
DM6123 Scientific Visualization
Elective Module B
M6134 Theory & Applications of Finite Element Analysis
M6545 Computational & Clinical Biology
M6601 Human Factors Engineering Fundamentals
M6806 Engineering Research Methodology
The
candidate may, with the approval of the Dean of the School of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering, take as elective course one course from the other M.Sc. programmes
offered by the School. The elective course chosen will be classified under
“Other Electives”.
3) Compulsory
Course for Option 2 of Study:
M6588 Independent study
Note: Curriculum is subject to changes. Not all electives will be offered at the same time.
M6134
THEORY AND APPLICATIONS OF FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS |
Basic concepts of finite element method. Direct and variational formulations. Methods of weighted-residual. Iso-parametric mapping. Practical introduction to a commercial FE software. Finite elements for 1-D and 2-D heat conduction and elasticity problems. Convergence requirements of trial solution. Beam, plate and shell elements. Structural equilibrium equations in finite element analysis and their solution methods: Steadystate solution; Eigensolution; Modal superposition and time-marching solutions. |
M6503
BIOMEDICAL INSTRUMENTATION |
Introduction to Medical Instrumentation, Transducers and the Measurement of Physiological Events, Chemical Biosensors, Clinical Laboratory Instrumentation, Electrodes and Bioelectric Events, Stimulators and Stimulation, Lasers and Medical Optics, Radiant Energy Devices, Computer, Interfacing and Electrical Safety of Medical Instrumentation System. |
M6506
CLINICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES ENGINEERING |
The
overall aim is to acquire a comprehensive education and development in the
fundamentals of biomedical engineering in medical care delivery. It
enhances the knowledge of graduate students on the science and application
of biomedical engineering. The approach of the course is practical and
problem-oriented. The major part of the course will involve applying
concepts, analytic tools and frameworks, and intuition clinical and health
services issues which real-world biomedical industry face. Much of the
theory and concepts are drawn from other disciplines – notably statistical
theory and methods, survival analysis, medical device regulation, clinical
evidence and the use of standards, quality and risk management, life
support technology, artificial organs in clinical use, drug delivery and
pharmacokinetics, health care systems engineering and management. These
are all topics which will be subsumed under the general heading of this
course. |
M6511
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY |
Foundation; Support and Movement - the Articular Skeleton; Cell Biology; Tissues, Organs and Systems; Physiology of the Nervous System; Control Systems of the Human Body; Variability in Human Biology. |
M6514
BIOMATERIALS |
The course covers metallic, polymer, ceramic and composite biomaterials apart from natural materials for a wide range of biomedical applications. Properties, performance as well as degradation of biomaterials are discussed within the human body environment. Physical (including surface), mechanical and structural evaluations of biomaterials are discussed. Concepts of tissue engineering are introduced. |
M6522
LIFE SUPPORT ENGINEERING |
Mathematical modeling and computer simulation of physiological and other biomedical systems; application of ordinary and partial differential equations. Bioheat (micro & macro) and biomass transfer models (by diffusion and convection). Benchmarking of bioheat equation for numerical simulation. Principles of thermal imaging, image processing, thermal physiology and skin. Medical applications of thermography, preparation of patient, clinical implications. General circulation. Mass transport in the lungs. Circulation and Function of Kidneys. Hepatic Circulation and Function. Hazards
associated with
the extra corporeal Circulation. Biomaterials issues in artificial organs. Operating principles of the heart-lung machine. Operating principles of the dialyser. Modeling of dialysis processes. Cardiovascular medicine and surgery. Cardiac and Vascular Surgery. Cardiac assist device engineering.
|
M6525
MEDICAL INFORMATICS & TELEMEDICINE |
Introduction to Medical Informatics, Introduction to Networking, Object Oriented Design and Modeling, Electronic Medical Records, Derivatives of a Computer Based Patient Record, Nursing Information Systems, Diagnostic Reporting Systems, Standards for Medical System, Terminology and Coding Systems in Medicine, Telemedicine, Medical Imaging, Decision Support, Bioinformatics, Ethics and Confidentiality. |
M6526
REHABILITATION ENGINEERING |
Overview of biomedical engineering to Rehabilitation Engineering; the design and prescription of prosthetic limbs, orthotic devices, and seating & positioning systems. Introduction to injuries, disability, human movement, kinesiology, biomechanics. Gait analysis, prosthetics, orthotics and mobility assistive technology. Improvement of performance and prevention of injuries. |
|
|
Blood contacting biomaterials, mechanical testing, surface characterisation, plasma spraying, wear, cell structure, cell adhesion, applications of tissue engineering. |
M6545
COMPUTATIONAL & CLINICAL BIOLOGY |
An introductory course on computational biology. Background of molecular structures and biochemistry. Techniques in cell and molecular biology. Fundamentals of molecular biology and biological analysis. Principles of computational biology. Computing techniques for molecular biology. Applications in clinical biology. |
|
This a creative
course based on an issue, case study, problem or an area of interest related to the programme. The candidate is required to propose and undertake an independent supervised research on a topic of study subject to the agreement of the Programme Director. The candidate will have to demonstrate expertise in the topic of study, together with creativity, diligence and critical thinking in addressing the problems and issues on the topic. |
M6601
HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING FUNDAMENTALS |
This course provides the students with the necessary background and fundamentals of human factors engineering for the programme. The topics include: Overview of human factors and its design process. Cognitive Human Factors and Human Computer Interaction. Human Machine Interaction. Physical Human Factors and Ergonomics. Organizational Aspects and Macro Ergonomics. Environmental Aspects. |
M6806
ENGINEERING RESEARCH METHODOLOGY |
Preparation, planning, research sources review and data analysis. Analysis of experimental and quasi-experimental methods. Presentation of research findings. |
DM6123
SCIENTIFIC VISUALIZATION |
The course will be organized around designing interactive visual solutions for exploring large datasets. The students will learn about techniques that help in designing visualization solutions for specific scientific needs. Each student, sometimes alone and sometimes in a small group, will design and/or realize several visualization approaches during the semester culminating in a final project.
Topics: Visualization overview, coordinate systems, sample theory, navigation, interaction. Perception: light, brightness, contrast, constancy, color theory, components of an effective visualization, 2D scalar visualization methods. Surface extraction: isosurface, convex hull. VolVis: direct volume rendering, MIP, ray casting, texture-based rendering, splatting, transfer functions, methods for time-varying data. FlowVis: design & traditional techniques, texture-based techniques. Information visualization: goals & problems, web-based tools. Case studies: algorithm and program visualization, geographical and weather visualization, financial data visualization, bio visualization, etc. |
See Frequently Asked Questions for latest update.
Each academic year consists of two semesters. Go to http://www.ntu.edu.sg/OAS/Undergraduate+Studies/Academic+Calendar/ for details.
Assoc. Prof. Chou Siaw Meng
MSc (Biomed. Eng.) Programme Director
Nanyang Technological University
School of MAE
50 Nanyang Avenue
Singapore 639798
Tel : (65) 6790 4958
Fax : (65) 6792 4062
Email: msmchou@ntu.edu.sg
OR
Dr. Denny Lie
Adjunct Associate Professor
MSc (Biomed. Eng.) Programme Director
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Singapore General Hospital
Singapore 169608
SGH visiting staff and others
The School acknowledges the sponsorship of Siemens Pte Ltd
in support of the annual SIEMENS
BOOK PRIZE for outstanding performance in coursework.
Book prize winners
2002 Woon Fung
Peng
2003
Ong Lay Choo
2004 Chow Yuen San,
Vicky
2005 Tan Meng How
2006
Lew Duan Ning,
Magdeleine
2007 Lim Lay Swan