Introduction to Biomedical Engineering

The purpose of the third edition remains the same as the first and second editions, that is, to serve as an introduction to and overview of the field of biomedical engineering. Many chapters have undergone major revision from the previous editions with new end-of-chapter problems added. Some chapters were eliminated completely, with several new chapters added to reflect changes in the field.

Over the past fifty years, as the discipline of biomedical engineering has evolved, it has become clear that it is a diverse, seemingly all-encompassing field that includes such areas as bioelectric phenomena, bioinformatics, biomaterials, biomechanics, bioinstrumentation, biosensors, biosignal processing, biotechnology, computational biology and complexity, genomics, medical imaging, optics and lasers, radiation imaging, tissue engineering, and moral and ethical issues. Although it is not possible to cover all of the biomedical engineering domains in this textbook, we have made an effort to focus on most of the major fields of activity in which biomedical engineers are engaged.

The text is written primarily for engineering students who have completed differential equations and a basic course in statics. Students in their sophomore year or junior year should be adequately prepared for this textbook. Students in the biological sciences, including those in the fields of medicine and nursing can also read and understand this material if they have the appropriate mathematical background.