Biomedical engineering: looking ahead.

摘要

The development of artificial organs is a longstanding and essential component of biomedical engineering, a field that has grown and changed especially rapidly during the past 10 years (1,2). During this period, the number of university departments offering degree-granting programs in biomedical engineering has grown close to 80, representing an almost threefold increase. The number of students seeking biomedical engineering degrees has grown likewise. The field has undergone profound qualitative changes as well. Research that used to be characterized as "using engineering techniques to solve problems in biology and medicine" has taken on an increasingly biological emphasis. For example, "artificial pancreas" used to denote a combination of glucose sensor, computer, and pump. Now the term can also refer, among others, to transplanted and encapsulated beta cells or stem cells being coaxed into becoming beta cells.