Undergraduate Courses

Introduction to current research topics in Biomedical Engineering. The applications are chosen to demonstrate the depth, breadth, impact and future directions of the BME field. Typical topics include Biomechanics, Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Cardio-Respiratory Mechanics, Gait Analysis, Markerless motion capture, Bio-Robotics and Robotic Surgery, Brain-Computer Interfaces and nano-medicine. Students will learn how to critically review current research publications.

Overview of the biomedical engineering field with applications relevant to the healthcare industry such as medical instrumentation and devices. Introduction to the nervous system, propagation of the action potential, muscle contraction and introduction to the cardiovascular system. Discussion of ethical issues in biomedicine. Prerequisite: Sophomore Standing.

Introduction to the principles of wireless transmission and the design of biomedical devices and instrumentation with wireless capabilities.(e.g. pacemakers, defibrilators. EKG). Electrical safety (isolation, shielding), and equipment validation standards for FDA compliance are introduced. Use of LabView to provide virtual bioinstrumentation. The course culminates in group projects to design a biomedical device that runs on wireless technology.

A study of momentum, mass and heat transport in living systems. Rheology of blood. Basic hemodynamics. Use of the equations of continuity and motion to set up complex flow problems. Flow within distensible tubes. Shear stress and endothelial cell function. Mass transfer and metabolism in organs and tissues. Microscopic and macroscopic mass balances. Diffusion. Blood-tissue transport of solutes in the microcirculation. Compartmental models for pharmacokinetic analyses. Analysis of blood oxygenators, hemodialysis, tissue growth in porous support materials. Artificial organs. Energy balances and the use of heat to treat tumor growth (radio frequency ablation, cryogenic ablation). Laboratory exercises accompany major topics discussed in class and are conducted at the same time.

Senior design courses. Senior design provides, over the course of two semesters, a collaborative design experience with a significant biomedical problem related to human health. The project will often originate with an industrial sponsor or a medical practitioner at a nearby medical facility and will contain a clear implementation objective (i.e. for a medical device). It is a capstone experience that draws extensively on the student’s engineering and scientific background and requires independent judgments and actions. The project generally involves a determination of the medical need, a detailed economic analysis of the market potential, physiological considerations, biocompatibility issues, ease of patient use, an engineering analysis of the design, manufacturing considerations and experimentation and/or prototype construction of the device. The faculty advisor, industrial sponsor or biomedical practitioner works closely with the group to insure that the project meets its goals in a timely way. Leadership and entrepreneurship are nourished throughout all phases of the project. The project goals are met in a stepwise fashion, with each milestone forming a part of a final report with a common structure. Oral and written progress reports are presented to a panel of faculty at specified intervals and at the end of each semester.

Senior design courses. Senior design provides, over the course of two semesters, a collaborative design experience with a significant biomedical problem related to human health. The project will often originate with an industrial sponsor or a medical practitioner at a nearby medical facility and will contain a clear implementation objective (i.e. for a medical device). It is a capstone experience that draws extensively on the student’s engineering and scientific background and requires independent judgments and actions. The project generally involves a determination of the medical need, a detailed economic analysis of the market potential, physiological considerations, biocompatibility issues, ease of patient use, an engineering analysis of the design, manufacturing considerations and experimentation and/or prototype construction of the device. The faculty advisor, industrial sponsor or biomedical practitioner works closely with the group to insure that the project meets its goals in a timely way. Leadership and entrepreneurship are nourished throughout all phases of the project. The project goals are met in a stepwise fashion, with each milestone forming a part of a final report with a common structure. Oral and written progress reports are presented to a panel of faculty at specified intervals and at the end of each semester.

Time and frequency domain analysis of linear control systems. Proportional, derivative and integral control actions.  Stability. Applications of control theory to physiological control systems: biosensors, information processors and bioactuators.  Mathematical modeling and analysis of heart and blood pressure regulation, body temperature regulation, regulation of intracellular ionic concentrations, eye movement and pupil dilation controls.  Use of Matlab and Simulink to model blood pressure regulation, auto regulation of blood flow, force development by muscle contraction, and integrated response of cardiac output, blood pressure and respiration to exercise.

This course focuses on professional ethical conduct in the biomedical field. It will enable students to understand the ethical challenges they may encounter as biomedical engineers, allow them to practice biomedical engineering in an ethical manner and conduct themselves ethically as contributing members of society.  Case discussions and presentations by practitioners in the field illustrate ethical norms and dilemmas.

Biomedical Digital Signal Processing is an introductory course into the fascinating world of Digital Signal Processing as it applies to the clinic. Since modern medical systems employ DSP concepts to analyze biomedical signals, such as the ECG, there is a need for Biomedical Engineers to gain a more in-depth understanding of the subject. This class is designed to break the complex subject down into three fundamental areas, hardware systems, mathematical concepts, and software algorithms. Essential Signal Processing concepts are introduced and then reinforced with multiple biomedical examples and MatLab simulations, all serving to clarify the subject. Topics include: The Hardware building blocks, Signals and Systems, Euler’s Equation, Nyquist’s Sampling Theorem as Applied to Biomedical Applications, Convolution, Filters, Adaptive Filters, the Power Spectrum, and Discrete Fourier Transformations.

Introduction to mammalian physiology from an engineering point of view.  The quantitative aspects of normal cellular and organ functions and the regulatory processes required maintaining organ viability and homeostasis.  Laboratory exercises using exercise physiology as an integration of function at the cellular, organ and systems level will be conducted at the same time. Measurements of heart activity (EKG), cardiac output (partial CO2 rebreathing), blood pressure, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, muscle strength (EMG), fluid shifts and respiratory function in response to exercise stress will be measured and analyzed from an engineering point of view.

Individual investigation of a substantive character undertaken at an undergraduate level under the guidance of a member of the departmental faculty.  A written report is required.  Hours to be arranged with the faculty advisor.  Prior approval required.  These courses can be used as general electives for degree requirements.

 An individual research project of a substantive nature and relevant to the    
 student’s degree program is conducted under the guidance of a faculty member, 
 whose prior approval is required.  Hours to be arranged with the faculty      
 advisor.  The credits can be used to satisfy General Education Elective course
 requirements for the bachelor’s degree.  This can be up to six credits.  A    
 written report in acceptable journal format as well as an oral presentation is
 required at the end of the course.  If the scope of the project is judged to  
 be of sufficient merit by the faculty advisor, the project can also be        
 submitted to the department as a senior thesis and if accepted be recognized  
 along with the bachelor’s degree as degree with thesis.  BME 498 and 499      
 cannot be taken simultaneously.

Imaging plays an important role in both clinical and research environments. This course presents both the basic physics together with the practical technology associated with such methods as X-ray computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI (f-MRI) and spectroscopy, ultrasonics (echocardiography, Doppler flow), nuclear medicine (Gallium, PET and SPECT scans) as well as optical methods such as bioluminescence, optical tomography, fluorescent confocal microscopy, two-photon microscopy and atomic force microscopy. 

Intended as an introduction to materials science for biomedical engineers, this course first reviews the materials properties relevant to the application to the human body.  It goes on to discuss proteins, cells, tissues, and their reactions and interactions with foreign materials, as well as the degradation of these materials in the human body. The course then treats various implants, burn dressings, drug delivery systems, biosensors, artificial organs, and elements of tissue engineering. Laboratory exercises accompany the major topics discussed in class and are conducted at the same time.

This course reviews basic engineering principles governing materials and structures such as mechanics, rigid body dynamics, fluid mechanics and solid mechanics and applies these to the study of biological systems such as ligaments, tendons, bone, muscles, joints, etc.  The influence of material properties on the structure and function of organisms provides an appreciation for the mechanical complexity of biological systems. Methods for both rigid body and deformational mechanics are developed in the context of bone, muscle, and connective tissue.  Multiple applications of Newton's Laws of mechanical are made to human motion.

Atomic structure and periodic properties, stoichiometry, properties of gases, thermochemistry, chemical bond types, intermolecular forces, liquids and solids, chemical kinetics and introduction to organic chemistry and biochemistry.

Phase equilibria, properties of solutions, chemical equilibrium, strong and weak acids and bases, buffer solutions and titrations, solubility, thermodynamics, electrochemistry, properties of the elements and nuclear chemistry.

Laboratory work to accompany CH 115: experiments of atomic spectra, stoichiometric analysis, qualitative analysis, and organic and inorganic syntheses, and kinetics.

Laboratory work to accompany CH 116: analytical techniques properties of solutions, chemical and phase equilibria, acid-base titrations, thermodynamic properties, electrochemical cells, and properties of chemical elements.

Introduction to chemistry as the "central science" and its impact on other fields, particularly biology. Areas to be explored include the interaction of radiation with matter, the effect of symmetry on chemical and physical properties of molecules, hyphenated methods of analysis, the chemistry of biological signals, biochemical cycles, the physiology of exercise, and chaotic reactions.

Principles of descriptive organic chemistry; structural theory; reactions of aliphatic compounds; and stereochemistry.

Continuation of CH 243; reactions of aromatic compounds; infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Laboratory includes introduction to organic reaction and separation techniques, reactions of functional groups, and synthesis.

Laboratory work in synthesis, spectroscopy and chromatographic separation techniques.

Biological principles and their physical and chemical aspects are explored at the cellular and molecular level. Major emphasis is placed on cell structure, the processes of energy conversion by plant and animal cells, genetics and evolution, and applications to biotechnology.

An introductory laboratory illustrating basic techniques and principles of modern biology by means of laboratory experiments and simulated experiments. This laboratory does not satisfy medical school admission requirements.

Laws of thermodynamics, thermodynamic functions, and the foundations of statistical thermodynamics. The chemical potential is applied to phase equilibria, chemical reaction equilibria, and solution theory, for both ideal and real systems.

Quantum mechanics of molecular systems are developed. The techniques of approximation methods are employed for molecular binding and spectroscopic transitions. Examples are taken from infrared, visible, ultraviolet, microwave, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Survey of biologically important classes of compounds including fats and lipids, terepenes, steroids, acetogenins, sugars, carbohydrates, peptides, proteins, alkaloids, and other natural products.

Interpretation of infrared, ultraviolet, nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectra. Emphasis is on the use of these spectroscopic methods in identification and structure determination of organic compounds.

Theoretical and experimental approach to spectroscopy and chromatography. Includes ultraviolet, visible and infrared absorption by molecules, emission spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectroscopy and gas-liquid and high-performance chromatography.

The structure and function of the cell and its subcellular organelles is studied. Biological macromolecules, enzymes, biomembranes, biological transport, bioenergetics, DNA replication, protein synthesis and secretion, motility, and cancer are covered. Cell biology experiments and interactive computer simulation exercises are conducted in the laboratory.

Physiochemical principles underlying the coordinated function in multicellular organisms are studied. Electrical properties of biological membranes, characteristics of tissues, nerve-muscle electrophysiology, circulatory, respiratory, endocrine, digestive, and excretory systems are covered. Computer simulation experiments and data acquisition methods to evaluate and monitor human physiological systems are conducted in the laboratory.

Lecture and laboratory; ionic solids, lattice energy, and factors determining solubility; thermodynamics in inorganic synthesis and analysis; acid-base equilibria; and systematic chemistry of the halogens and other non-metals.

Chemical kinetics, solution theories with applications to separation processes, electrolytes, polyelectrolytes, regular solutions and phase equilibria, and laboratory practice in the measurements of physical properties and rate processes.

Theory and practice of electrochemical methods in analytical chemistry. Includes potentiometry, coulometry, amperometry, polarography, voltammetry, conductivity, etc.

Introduction to the study of molecular basis of inheritance. Starts with classical Mendelian genetics and proceeds to the study and function of DNA, gene expression and regulation in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, genome dynamics and the role of genes in development, and cancer. All topics include discussions of current research advances. Accompanied by laboratory section that explores the lecture topics in standard wet laboratory experiments and in computer simulations.

Participation in a small group project, under the guidance of a faculty member, whose prior approval is required. Experimentation, application of chemical knowledge and developmental research leading to the implementation of a working chemical process. Individual or group written report required.

Participation in a small group project, under the guidance of a faculty member, whose prior approval is required. Experimentation, application of chemical knowledge and developmental research leading to the implementation of a working chemical process. Individual or group written report required.

Individual research project under the guidance of a chemistry faculty member, whose prior approval is required. A written report in acceptable journal format and an oral presentation are required at the end of the project.

Individual research project under the guidance of a chemistry faculty member, whose prior approval is required. A written report in acceptable journal format and an oral presentation are required at the end of the project.

The course addresses the science underpinnings of nanotechnology to provide a hands-on experience for undergraduate students in nanofabrication and characterization. It will discuss the grand challenges of nanofabrication and will showcase examples of specific applications in electronics, photonics, chemistry, biology, medicine, defense, and energy. NANO 200 would be a pre-requisite for this course. This course will offer hands-on experiments to fabricate prototype devices/systems (e.g. relatively simple sensors or actuators) in order for students to understand the full sequence/spectrum of development of nanodevices and systems, e.g. from concept design, fabrication and characterization.Prerequisites:  NANO 200 or instructor permission