Education

Nanyang Technological University (NTU): Engineering: Bioengineering

Category Bioengineering, Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, Undergraduate
Tags Bioengineering, Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, NTU

Bioengineering is an interdisciplinary field, which applies engineering principles and state-of-the-art techniques in a systematic, quantitative, and integrative way to solve problems or enable technologies important to medicine, biology and health care. Bioengineering is an exciting and growing field that encompasses a wide range of industrial and research areas such as diagnostic and therapeutic devices, medicines, novel biosensors, bioimaging, bioinformatics, artificial tissues and organs, systems biology and biomedical equipment. Bioengineers invent tools to explore life at molecular, cellular and system level, which have brought unique impacts in various clinical and biomedical applications.

In a broad sense, bioengineering can be dated back to even thousands of years ago when Egyptians started to use artificial materials to make limb prosthesis. Since then, many milestones have been created at the interface between engineering science and medicine. For example, X-ray discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Roentgen has led to the modern array of medical imaging technologies. The detection of electrical signals (ECG) from the human heart in 1903 by William Eindhoven has provided an important non-invasive diagnostic method for heart diseases. The academic endeavor of bioengineering can find its roots in the early development of electrophysiology about 200 years ago when DuBois Reymond applied engineering principles to a problem in physiology and identified the resistance of muscle and nervous tissues to direct current. Biomedical technologies are continuously advanced by bioengineers with high-throughput biochips, intelligent nanomedicines, implatable biosensors, advanced bioimaging / biophotonics and artificial organs, etc. The annals of history are filled with significant contributions of bioengineers towards technologies that have resulted in the improved management of health and quality of life.

It is envisaged that major contributions to improving human health would come from the confluence of medicine and engineering. To this effect, almost all major universities have established formal bioengineering training programme during the recent 40 years. Bioengineering programmes have attracted many young and brilliant students, not only because of the excitement of its interdisciplinary nature, but also because both industry and academia recognize that students with a solid footing in both bioscience and engineering can contribute in ways that students with traditional engineering training cannot.