WHAT IS BIOENGINEERING?

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WHAT IS BIOENGINEERING?
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Bioengineering is Diverse!

• Each bioengineer only knows a tiny fraction of
  the entire field

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What is Bioengineering?

• Any Area of Biology
• Mixed with
• Any Area of Engineering
• In
• Any Proportion

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Biologists

• Want to understand organisms and living systems
• Discover underlying mechanisms that govern how
  organisms work
• The knowledge is then used to develop or improve
  medical, industrial or agricultural processes.
• Comfortable with uncertainty

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Engineers

• See a problem and want to come up with a
  practical solution
• Apply mathematics and scientific knowledge
• Want precision and reproducibility
• Consider technical and economic constraints

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• Bioengineering applies engineering methods and
  techniques to problems in biology and medicine.

Biology
Medicine

Engineering
Tissue Engineering Neural Implants DNA Expression
Arrays
Pumps Pacemakers Prosthetics
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Biomechanics and Rehabilitation

• Artificial limbs
• Replacement joints
• Cochlear implants
• Pacemakers for heartbeat regulation

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Cochlear Prostheses
http//www.cochlearimplant.com/
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All imaging and diagnostic techniques

• Help with medical diagnosis
• Assist in research for better cures
• EKG machines
• MRI
• Ultrasound imaging

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MRI and Functional MRI
UIUC MRI researchers Profs. Sutton (BioE), Liang
(ECE)
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Ultrasound Imaging and Bioeffects
UIUC Ultrasonics Led by Profs. Insana, OBrien,
Oelze, Frizzell
GE Medical Systems
High resolution ultrasonic imaging of liver with
a microprobe
http//www.gemedicalsystems.com/rad/us/4d/thennow.
html
http//www.brl.uiuc.edu
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What kind of scientists are involved with
Magnetic Resonance Imaging?

• Electrical Engineers electromagnetics
• Computer Engineers/Scientists computation
• Physiologists biological function
• Chemists new imaging agents
• Psychologists mental function
• Physicians medical implications

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Cell and Tissue Engineering

• Cell and Tissue Engineering allows us to repair
  or replace the function of natural tissue with
  bioengineered substitutes.
• Principles of engineering, chemistry, and biology
  are combined to create tissue substitutes from
  living cells and synthetic materials.

Tissue Engineered Skin
New Companies Advanced Tissue Sciences,
Inc. Organogenesis
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The Potential Promise of Tissue Engineering

• To repair or replace damaged organs
• Origins in the late 1980s
• Rapid advances in stem cell biology
• The tissue engineer needs to
• manipulate,
• produce, and
• deliver
• collections of cells as building blocks of tissues

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A Wide Spectrum of Knowledge is Required for
Tissue Engineering

• Basic biological sciences
• Cell biology and histology
• Physiology
• Embryology
• Wound healing
• Clinical aspects
• Surgery and transplantation
• Immunology
• Pathology
• radiology

• Biotechnologies
• Cell culture
• Cell separation
• Gene transfer
• Engineering fundamentals
• Fluid dynamics
• Transport phenomena
• Materials science
• Mechanics
• Chemical kinetics

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Participants in Tissue Engineering

• Bioengineers
• Materials scientists
• Cell and molecular biologists
• Immunologists
• Policy makers and ethicists
• Chemical engineers
• Surgeons

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Neural Engineering

• Neural Engineers use modeling and analysis to
  understand and control the nervous system.
• Advances in neuroscience and microfabrication
  have opened the doors to exciting applications in
  neuroprosthetics, biosensors and hybrid
  biocomputers.

Fluorescent Stained Myocyte
Microfabrication Surface
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Designing Networks of Neurons in a Petri Dish
Input
Output
Ideal Neuronal Networks
Real Networks of Nerve Cells in Culture on
Patterned Substrates
Prof. Wheeler, UIUC Prof. Brewer, SIU Med
School, Springfield
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Biomimetics

• Mimicking biological systems to create new
  technologies

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Modeling Channels Through Cell Membranes
andProtein / Surface Interactions
Understanding Molecular Structure by Applying
Engineering Principles
Biomolecular Modeling
Computer Image of a DNA Binding Protein
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Bioinformatics and Genomics

• Bioinformatics computer science biomedicine
• Discover genetic basis for disease (cancer,
  diabetes)
• Develop new diagnostic devices (cDNA chip)

cDNA Array
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Genetic Engineering

• Animals
• To produce a high-value therapeutic protein
• Pharm animals
• Plants-GMOs
• Improve plant yields
• Grow plants with higher nutrient value
• Plants with vaccines incorporated
• Pharmaceutical products
• Manipulate cells genetically
• Produce large quantities of vaccine, insulin,
  other useful proteins for medicine

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Bioengineers make use of all of these fields

• Biology
• Medicine
• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Computer Science
• Computer Engineering

• Physics
• Chemical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Nuclear Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Agricultural Engineering