Giving Compass' Take:

· Jeffrey W. Holmes, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Medicine at the University of Virginia, explains that connecting engineering and medicine can accelerate innovations in health care. 

· How can engineering assist in the medical field? How can higher education institutions promote collaboration between engineering and medicine?

· Learn more about health care innovation and the use of online systems. 

Artificial heart valves, prosthetic hips, bedside monitors, MRI machines – these and so many other innovations that we now take for granted emerged at the interface of engineering and medicine.

In an era of big data, personalized medicine and artificial intelligence, the importance of engineering, especially in medicine, is increasing. In my own field of cardiovascular bioengineering, engineers now routinely build and run sophisticated, patient-specific computer models of blood flow in just a few hours, helping doctors diagnose and treat heart disease. These groundbreaking inventions are possible only through the contributions of multidisciplinary teams of researchers, clinicians and engineers.

Engineering schools are preparing for this future in part through the growth of biomedical engineering, where students learn not only the tools and concepts of engineering but also how to apply those ideas to today’s medical challenges. Many aspects of modern healthcare – from designing implants that survive for decades in the body to constructing secure medical records systems – are driving the demand for biomedical engineers.

In 1974 only three engineering schools offered accredited biomedical engineering programs. Forty years later, in 2014, more than 100 accredited programs granted bachelor of science degrees in biomedical engineering or bioengineering. In line with broader trends in engineering education, these programs prepare students to collaborate by challenging them with team-based projects.

Read the full article about health care innovation by Jeffrey W. Holmes at The Conversation.