The History Of Biomedical Engineering

As the world continues to develop, so does the medical field. New medical problems arise almost every day. In order to keep up with all these changes, there is a profession that focuses solely on improving health care called biomedical engineering. For many people it is hard to completely understand the impact that biomedical engineering has had on the lives of many people, but knowing that it has produced a tremendous amount of devices and concepts since its beginnings can help someone start to realize the immense impact. Some people may say that biomedical engineering is not very important, but just a little research could make these people recant their statements. Biomedical engineering is one of the most important and fastest growing branches …show more content…
One of the earliest inventions created by biomedical engineers was a wooden prosthetic toe that was found on an Egyptian mummy (Lucas). Other biomedical engineering inventions that can be traced to early times are crutches, walking sticks, and a splint for broken bones. The first well known invention was created in the 20th century - the tabletop hearing aid. (Lucas). The hearing aid has been improved, but that basic concept is what has lead to the hearing aids that are used by millions of people everywhere. The hearing aid is only one example of how important the ideas and the devices created by biomedical engineers are to the world around them. Some of the major pioneers of biomedical engineering are Robert Jarvik and Willem Johan Kolff. Kolff created kidney dialysis, and Jarvik created the artificial heart (Lucas). Both of these lifesaving concepts are still used today, which again shows what a great impact the inventions of biomedical engineers have on the …show more content…
The success of biomedical engineers is shown when the devices and procedures they create are put to the test. Failing is almost never an option for devices and procedures created by biomedical engineers because a lot of the time they have the important task of saving someone 's life. An example of such a device is a pacemaker (Lucas). Pacemakers are used by many people, and if this biomedical engineering device were to have a problem and fail tons of people could end up dying. All the work done by biomedical engineers is very precise, tedious, and important. Not very often do you see a medical device fail. This is because of all the work put into perfecting these devices. A majority of the work done to prevent medical devices from failing are the biomedical engineers who create the devices. Ahmed Sherif El-Gizawy, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Missouri, states that, “It’s different from even when you design a car or a bike because here you are talking about somebody’s heart, and if failure happens — that’s the end of that life (French).” This statement is a perfect explanation of why the work of biomedical engineers around the globe is so