Haute Ecole Lucia de Brouckère Bachelor’s in medical electronics: a cutting-edge course as a response to the increasing demand for specialist technicians

Created in 1989 (today it belongs to the “Technical” category of the Haute Ecole Lucia de Brouckère), this three-year course prepares students for the implementation, maintenance and repair of highly sophisticated medical equipment whilst educating them on the specificities of public works contract specifications.

Specialist technicians have never been in such demand as they are today at a time when medicine is increasingly based on medical examinations and analyses that use cutting-edge technology. The ageing population requires an ever-higher amount of medical attention… Hence the appeal of this Bachelor's course: it allows future technicians to meet the needs of modern medicine whilst effectively communicating with the various interlocutors in their respective jargon. From this perspective, the course integrates medical orientation sessions (physiology, ethics etc.), sessions on spoken and written communication (French, technical English), technical sessions (electronics, IT, networks etc.) whilst also using scientific orientation sessions ((bio)physics, mathematics), sessions firmly rooted in economic reality (marketing, management) and finally activities organised to ensure that all these notions are applied and selected correctly in real-life situations (internships working with up-to-date medical equipment, dissertations).

In this course, students learn to assimilate the operating and maintenance principles of the large families of medical devices; hone their technical and physiological knowledge to allow them to implement, monitor and maintain medical electronic equipment in a hospital environment and in the medical electronics industry; manage stress factors; integrate within multidisciplinary teams specific to medical circles, and develop a feel for the responsibilities specific to the health sector.

95% of graduates find a job within two months in the biomedical services department at the hospital or the departments responsible for public procurement contracts and the drafting of specifications, but some also work as technicians, developers or salespeople for companies active in the field of medicine or electronics.

The bachelor's degree in medical electronics is directly dependent on a partnership with the developers, manufacturers and distributors of medical equipment. Indeed, this equipment - extremely varied and expensive - develops so quickly that only hospitals and specialist companies are able to keep up. The Haute Ecole Lucia de Brouckère section has therefore developed a close relationship with these parties through the organisation of internships and projects. Moreover, these partners are actively involved in the creation of lesson programmes and the organisation of seminars and conferences. We should also mention the partnerships with doctors on projects for which the section has been approached to develop the equipment required for their study.

At present, the bachelor’s course in medical electronics faces three major challenges. First of all, it needs to monitor and even anticipate the rapid pace of technological development (particularly in the field of robotics). It must then convince larger numbers of young people to take this career path in order to meet the growing demand for specialist technicians. Lastly, it needs to develop its level of collaboration with businesses even further so that visibility and appeal can be continuously increased!

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