Course Detail

This course presents an overview of medical devices through the years, from historic breakthroughs to more recently developed devices associated with areas of high job growth.  Each type of device is introduced by an appropriate tissue physiology lecture that facilitates understanding of how medical devices interface with the body.   In addition to two weekly lectures, five laboratory experiments introduce students to the following concepts and associated instrumentation: biopotentials (electrocardiograms), vital signs monitoring, pacemaker pulse generators and programmers, ultrasound, and surface characterization.   A group project enables the students to analyze startup device companies from a market perspective.  This course material provides a foundation for development of future medical device strategies.

Cardiovascular devices
      External and internal defibrillators
      Cardiographs
      Pacemakers
      Heart-lung machine
      Heart valves
     Catheters
     Stents
     Grafts
     Blood pressure monitors
Respiratory devices
     Respiration monitors
     Spirometers
     Ventilators
     Clark Electrode
     Pulse oximeters
Temperature monitors
Neural devices
     Depth of anesthesia monitors
     Deep brain, spinal cord, and other nerve stimulators
     Cochlear implants
     Functional electrical stimulators
     Brain-computer interfaces
Imaging modalities
     Traditional and capusle endoscopy
     Radiography
     Computer assisted tomography
     Magnetic resonance imaging
     Ultrasound
     Positron emission tomography
Biomaterials
     Intraocular lens implants
     Hip/knee prostheses
Combination products
     Drug-eluting stents
     Artificial pancreas

After completing this course, students should:

• appreciate the rich history of the medical device literature.
• understand the basic mechanisms underlying core medical devices
• be able to understand the theory behind monitoring the five vital signs: cardiac activity, blood pressure, respiration, temperature, and arterial saturation of oxygen.
• be familiar with the high job growth areas in the medical device field: cardiovascular, neural engineering, imaging, orthopedic, and combination products.

Class Attendance & Discussion of Pre-assigned Readings   10%
Weekly quizzes   18%
Lab reports   18%    
Group project   18%
Midterm  18%    
Final exam   18%