Eagle Eyes - Notable Subdisciplines Within Biomedical Engineering

Notable Subdisciplines Within Biomedical Engineering

• Biomedical Electronics
• Biomechatronics
• Bioinstrumentation
• Biomaterials
• Biomechanics
• Bionics
• Biotransport
• Cellular, Tissue, and Genetic Engineering
• Clinical Engineering
• Medical Imaging
• Orthopaedic Bioengineering
• Rehabilitation engineering
• Systems Physiology
• Bionanotechnology
• Neural Engineering

Sometimes, disciplines within BME are classified by their association(s) with other, more established engineering fields, which can include:

• Chemical engineering - often associated with biochemical, cellular, molecular and tissue engineering, biomaterials, and biotransport.
• Electrical engineering - often associated with bioelectrical and neural engineering, bioinstrumentation, biomedical imaging, and medical devices. This also tends to encompass optics and optical engineering - biomedical optics, imaging and related medical devices.
• Mechanical engineering - often associated with biomechanics, biotransport, medical devices, and modeling of biological systems, like soft tissue mechanics.

Biotechnology (see also relatedly bioengineering) can be a somewhat ambiguous term, sometimes loosely used interchangeably with BME in general; however, it more typically denotes specific products which use "biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof." Even some complex "medical devices" (see below) can reasonably be deemed "biotechnology" depending on the degree to which such elements are central to their principle of operation. Biologics/Biopharmaceuticals (e.g., vaccines, stored blood product), genetic engineering, and various agricultural applications are some major classes of biotechnology.

Pharmaceuticals are related to biotechnology in two indirect ways: 1) certain major types (e.g. biologics) fall under both categories, and 2) together they essentially comprise the "non-medical-device" set of BME applications. (The "Device - Bio/Chemical" spectrum is an imperfect dichotomy, but one regulators often use, at least as a starting point.)