Biomedical Implants and Devices

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• The role of engineering in providing solutions to these particular clinical needs;
• Mechanical properties of biological tissue;
• Prosthetic limbs
• The high standards demanded of devices with respect to production, storage and performance, all related to approval from government agencies
• Creative solutions to challenging biomedical design problems.
• Stem cells in regenerative medicine;
• A range of transferrable skills linked to different engineering disciplines but also across the boundaries between engineering and medicine;
• Cardiovascular implants and devices (including stents and heart valves);
• Auditory implants (including cochlear implants);
• Issues related to intellectual property and the protection of ideas;
• How to apply and integrate knowledge, understanding and application of engineering methods from other disciplines in a multi-disciplinary arena (e.g., the use of CAD, FEA and CFD applied to the design of biomedical devices);
• Human anatomy, physiology and pathology relevant to the implants studied herein;
• The clinical needs for implants across a range of human diseases;

Introduction:

Overview of biomedical implants and devices and what is covered in the module; Introduction to biology for engineers.

Regenerative medicine and tissue engineering:

Stem cells in regenerative medicine; Tissue engineering; Tissue engineered implants.

Properties of biological materials:

Biophysical properties; Constitutive theories and modelling of hard and soft tissue; Calibration of constitutive models from experimental data; Finite element modelling of soft tissue

Material calibration case study (computer lab)

Audiology implants:

Cochlear implant candidacy, hardware, data transmission, speech processing, monitoring; Acoustic vs electric stimulation; Limitations and new developments; Other audiology implants.

Acoustic simulations of cochlear implants case study (computer lab)

Cardiovascular implants and devices:

The heart and the cardiovascular system; Cardiovascular disease; Devices (including pacemakers, defibrillators, stents, heart valves, filters); Monitoring cardiovascular health; Computational modelling.

Cardiovascular device case study (computer lab)

Prosthetic limbs

Guest lectures from clinicians

Anatomy:

Hands-on study of anatomy at the Anatomy Science Lab at SGH

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include

• Lectures (3 per week)
• Including guest talks from clinicians
• Computing labs (3 case studies)
• Hands-on computing case studies related to the main implants and devices taught in the module. Assessed tasks will be set for each case study.
• Visit to the Anatomical Sciences Laboratory at Southampton General Hospital
• Online resources

Assessment strategy

Three case studies will be presented in three double lab sessions followed by related assessed tasks of equal value (i.e. 20% each of the final module mark). A one hour exam will be taken as the final

assessment and worth 40% of the module mark.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External