Course Overview.
Biomedical engineering can be described as the application of engineering methods, principles and design concepts to the fields of medicine and biology for healthcare purposes such as therapeutic and diagnostic. Professionals in this field are known as biomedical engineers or bioengineers among other titles. The work of biomedical engineers entails the overall design, development and maintenance of hospital and other clinical equipments used for diagnosing illness and treating patients. In a hospital environment, biomedical engineers provide advice on proper selection and use of medical equipments in addition to supervising their testing, performance and preventive maintenance to achieve proper clinical practice.
Biomedical engineering plays an important role towards the healthcare profession in aid of diagnosis and treatment of human illnesses. Since biomedical engineers play a huge role towards health care provision, they must be equipped with the necessary skills and competencies to ensure hospital equipments, machines and systems are operating optimally. The Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering is a five year course that has been designed to equip students with advanced skills and knowledge within biomedical engineering profession. The coursework covers areas such as; human anatomy for biomedical engineers, medical physiology for biomedical engineers, biomedical instrumentation, machine design, industrial & hospital management, biomedical equipment design & manufacturing of techniques among many other crucial topics. Upon successful completion of the course, graduates will have the knowledge and skills required towards the design, development and maintenance of the healthcare equipments, devices and systems used for diagnosing illness and treating patients in the medical industry.
Entry Qualifications
For self sponsored students, at least a mean grade of C+ in KCSE. For Government sponsored students, the minimum cut point which is announced annually applies. The students should in addition have good performance in the following cluster subjects; Subject 1 MAT A, Subject 2 PHY, Subject 3 CHE, Subject 4 BIO or any GROUP III or any GROUP IV or any GROUP V.
Becoming a biomedical engineer
If you are passionate about healthcare, engineering and technology and would like to start a career that can improve human health through the design, development and maintenance of medical imaging equipments and systems used for clinical diagnosis & treatment, then pursuing this course might be a good choice for you. In addition, you should be prepared to develop skills that can help you grow and succeed in this field.
Biomedical engineers possess excellent analytical skills to analyze the needs of patients and customers in order to design appropriate solutions based on the patients needs. They also have good communication skills as they sometimes work with patients and frequently work with medical scientists or other engineers; therefore they must be able to express themselves clearly and in a non technical language. Biomedical engineers should have good people skills and be good listeners as they often work in teams and gather input from physicians, patients, therapists and business professionals, the listening skills helps them get others ideas and incorporate them into the problem-solving process.
Good maths skills is very important in this field as biomedical engineers use the principles of calculus and other advanced mathematical topics for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work. Biomedical engineers should also have good problem solving skills and be able to solve problems in complex biological systems. In addition, these professionals should have an interest in solving clinical problems using engineering methods and principles.
Work environment.
Biomedical engineers may work in hospitals, laboratories or manufacturing plants.
Career opportunities
Biomedical engineers can find employment in areas such as; general medical and surgical hospitals, scientific research and development services, medical equipment and supplies manufacturing, pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing, colleges and universities among other areas. Graduates can also opt to start their own businesses in related areas.
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