Biomedical Engineering

Director: Davide Piovesan Ph. D.

INTRODUCTION

Biomedical Engineering (BME) or Medical Engineering is applying engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic). This field seeks to close the gap between engineering and medicine, combining the design and problem-solving skills of engineering with medical, biological sciences to advance health care treatment, including diagnosis, monitoring, and therapy. Gannon University Graduate program focuses on Biomechanics, Bio-Mechatronics, and Biomaterials.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES:

The Master’s Program is designed to produce graduates who: 1. Advanced knowledge and skills appropriate to Biomedical

Engineering. • Analyze data and apply critical thinking skills to identify bio-medical problems, manage risk, or propose data-driven recommendations or solutions 2. Knowledge or application of ethical standards within Biomedical

Engineering. • demonstrate appropriate leadership skills while recognizing and assessing moral and ethical components and complexity of challenges faced by the medical and engineering community 3. Professional communication and disseminated information appropriate for Biomedical Engineering. • Display competence with oral, written and graphical communications, appropriate for professional clinical and engineering environments 4. Contributions, such as service, to the Biomedical Engineering profession and/or community.

DEGREES OFFERED

The program offers a Master of Science degree in biomedical engineering (MS-BME).

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

1. Applicants must have earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical

Engineering from an ABET-accredited program or equivalent to a QPA of 2.5 or better. 2. Applicants with non-biomedical degrees may be admitted but may require additional course work as determined by the program director. 3. Applicants must submit the following: a. Completed application b. Transcripts for all prior college coursework c. Three recommendation letters d. TOEFL scores if English is not the first language

CURRICULUM

Upon commencement of graduate studies in the Biomedical Engineering Program, the student can choose to study for a biomechanical or biomaterial track. The student will be assigned an initial academic advisor by the program director. The advisor and student will select appropriate courses for the objectives of the student and obtain approval of this course of study through the academic approval sequence.

Course Requirements:

Programming course: Either GECE 502 Embedded C Programming, GME565 Computer Assisted Engineering or Equivalent graduate programming course.

Advanced Math course: Either GENG 603 Advanced Engineering Analysis I or equivalent GECE 704

All students must complete at least one systems development course before graduation.

Systems development courses:

GCIS 514 Requirements and Project Management GECE 501 Engineering Project and Management GENG 570 Introduction to Systems Engineering GENG 624 Project Management

Students are required to take 4 courses out of the chosen concentration.

MATERIALS

GBME 562 Surface Science And Engineering GBME 554 Tribology GBME 571 Continuous Biomechanics

Credit

3 3 3 GBME 566 Energy Storage Systems 3 GBME 589 Nanotechnology for E Bio-engineers 3 GBME 583 Polymer Bio-Engineering 3

BIOMECHANICS AND PROSTHETICS

GBME 580 Haptics

3 GBME 560 Biosignal processing 3 GBME 579 Biomedical robotics and biomimetics 3 GBME 567 Biofluid 3 GBME 565 Bioheat Transfer 3 GME 630 Computational Fluid Dynamics 3

The remaining courses are electives and can be chosen among GBME, GENG, GME, GECE if prerequisites are satisfied.

After the student has completed 12 graduate credits of study, the student will be assessed relative to their preparedness to begin thesis or project work. The candidate must have a 3.0 QPA to continue for the degree. The candidate must then choose one of the three projects/ thesis plans below for completion of their degree, and an advisor will be assigned to guide the candidate for the completion of the degree work. Students cannot register for project/thesis credits until after 12 credits of graduate work are completed (see plans A, B, and C below). The degrees require a total of 30 credit hours of graduate work. Up to 6 credits of approved graduate work can be transferred from another graduate program.

Plan A (Thesis):

The candidate will be required to submit a 6 credit thesis as part of the 30 credits of graduate course work and pass a final oral examination on the thesis material and related subjects. The thesis work must be approved by the faculty and program director before the commencement of the research work. The thesis advisor will direct the student’s work and determine when to recommend the manuscript for review by a faculty committee. The review committee will be appointed by the program director and shall consist of at least three full-time Gannon engineering faculty members familiar with the subject material and one member outside the BISE department. The outside member can be from the industry. The faculty advisor will be the chair of the review committee. The credit for the thesis

will be counted in lieu of 6 technical elective credits

Plan B (Project):

The student will be required to complete a design project and to pass a final examination covering the student’s project and related subject areas. The project can be worth 3 or 6 credits as part of the 30 credits of graduate course work, depending on the difficulty of the project. The project must be approved by the faculty and program director prior to the commencement of the project work. The project advisor will direct the student’s work and determine when to recommend the manuscript for review by a faculty committee. The review committee will be appointed by the faculty and program director and shall consist of at least three full-time Gannon engineering faculty members familiar with the subject material, and the faculty advisor will be the chair of the review committee. The credit for

the project will be counted in lieu of technical elective credits.

Plan C (Project Course):

The student will be required to complete a 3 credit course designated as a project course. The program director will approve the project course prior to the commencement of the project work and must include a significant project for its completion. The course instructor will inform the student of the complete requirements for the project course and will oversee the work to ensure that the student satisfies these requirements. Students are required to prepare a manuscript in thesis format for the project. In order to earn the master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, students must complete all required coursework outlined within the curriculum matrix with no grade below a C. Students must also maintain a cumulative GPA equal to or greater than 3.0 and fulfill all graduate study and specific degree completion requirements as outlined in the Gannon University Graduate Catalog.

Since this is a graduate program with no immediate intentions of delivering curriculum online, there is no impact on liberal studies outcomes or distance education. The alignment of program outcomes with graduate outcomes is provided below.

FIVE-YEAR BACHELOR OF SCIENCE BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING (BME)/ MASTER OF SCIENCE IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING (M.E.) DEGREE PROGRAM

The five-year BME Bachelor of Science/BME Master of Science degree is designed to allow outstanding undergraduate students the opportunity to earn both an undergraduate and a graduate degree. The programs may be completed in five years of full-time study (includes one summer). Students in their Junior first semester with a minimum 2.8 cumulative GPA can apply for this program. The students accepted into this program should plan to complete a set of Liberal Studies courses during the summer after their junior year. A set of first-year graduate courses will be taken during the senior year. No more than seven additional graduate credits are allowed prior to the completion of the B.S. degree.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

GBME 562 Surface Science and Engineering

3 credits This course provides an introduction to surface properties of materials and an overview of electron microscopy, surface analysis techniques, adhesion and adhesive bonding technology. The course emphasizes conceptual understanding as well as practical industrialrelated applications of the material. Topics covered include surface properties of materials, surface wettability and surface tension, surface modification treatments, microscopy and surface analysis techniques, adhesion, adhesive bonding and related industrial applications, bond failure investigations and failure analysis.

GBME 554: Tribology

3 credits This course addresses the design of tribological systems: the interfaces between two or more bodies in relative motion. Fundamental topics include: geometric, chemical, and physical characterization of surfaces; friction and wear mechanisms for metal, polymers, and ceramics, including abrasive wear, delamination theory, tool wear, erosive wear, wear of polymers and composites; and boundary lubrication and solid-film lubrication. The course

also considers the relationship between nano-tribology and macrotribology, rolling contracts, tribological problems in magnetic recording and electrical contracts, and monitoring and diagnosis of friction and wear. Case studies are used to illustrate key points.

GBME 560: Biosignal Processing

3 credits In this course, students will learn how to design and choose a filter for processing signals commonly collected in Biomedical Engineering (e.g., electromyography, electrocardiogram, forceplate data). Topics to be covered include FIR filters, IIR filters, Butterworth filters, and residual analysis. Signal processing will be performed using user-generated code to understand how these filters are practically implemented.

GBME 565: Biomedical Heat and Mass Transfer

3 credits This course is an introduction to biomedical heat and mass transfer. The relevant principles of heat transfer will be reviewed. Macroscopic and microscopic approaches to biomedical heat transfer will be covered. An introduction to mass transfer and its applications in biomedical and biological systems will be presented.

GBME 566 Energy Storage Systems

3 credits In this course, energy storage techniques such as thermal, electrochemical, mechanical, and electromagnetic, as well as energy storage in organic biofuels, will be covered. Different energy storage methods will be compared in terms of cost, size, weight, reliability, and lifetimes. The differences, advantages, disadvantages, and variety of applications of these techniques will be presented. Specific emphasis will be placed on biomedical systems such as rehabilitation systems, implantable and wearable devices.

GBME 567 Biofluid Mechanics

3 credits The course introduces fundamental physical concepts and mathematical equations describing the dynamics of fluid flows and their application to biomedical problems. At the completion of the course, students should be familiar with the basic governing equations of fluid flows, understand several basic flows in different human organ systems, understand methods used to study flows in biomedical engineering.

GBME 571: Continuum Biomechanics

3 credits This course is concerned with the study of continuum mechanics applied to biological systems. This subject allows the description of when a bone may fracture due to excessive loading, how blood behaves as both a solid and a fluid, down to how cells respond to mechanical forces that lead to changes in their behavior.

GBME 579: Biomedical Robotics and Biomimetics

3 credits Biomedical Robotics focuses on activities such as rehabilitation, training/simulation, manipulation, surgery. These areas currently depend on labor-intensive manual procedures performed by highly trained professionals. The goal of the course is to analyze how to improve and transform these operations through teleoperation and automation. Furthermore, several aspects of biomimetics will be discussed during the course. Biomimetics uses nature as an example to build robots that can swim like a fish, fly like a bird or insect, and walk on rough terrain as many quadrupeds.

GBME 580: Haptics

3 credits In this course, students will learn about tactile sensors, how they are programmed, and real-world applications of these sensors. Topics to be covered include tactile sensors, piezoelectric sensors, and robotic surgery.

GBME 583 Polymer Bio-Engineering

3 credits Prerequisite: Background in general chemistry and material science as undergraduate. This course is designed to introduce graduate engineering students to the important field of polymer science. The course will be focused on the fundamentals of polymer science. Since polymers are ubiquitous in modern society, a background in this subject is essential for engineers who wish to pursue careers in the industry.

GBME 589 Nanotechnology for Bio-Engineers

3 credits Prerequisite: Background in general chemistry and material science as undergraduate. This course is designed to introduce graduate engineering students to the important field of nanotechnology. The course will be focused on the fundamentals of nanomaterials (i.e., synthesis, characterization, properties, and applications). Since nanotechnology is a field with an incredible promise to change the future of society in almost every facet, a background in this subject is essential for engineers who wish to pursue careers in the industry.

GBME 680: Graduate Internship

1-3 credits For this course, the student will engage in a practical internship as assigned by the director of the Biomedical Engineering Master’s program. The experience must provide significant responsibilities or learning opportunities in Biomedical Engineering. Each credit is considered as 50 hours of internship hours.