One of the biggest issues in the Biomedical Engineering is not so much technicalities but more of ethical dilemmas. While the field has seen immense growth, there is a lot of controversy when it comes to ethical dilemmas. One of them being the use of animals in research. While in other fields, it is possible to completely eliminate the need for animals in research (for example, makeup industries are phasing out animal testing), in BME, not so much. It is extremely common for animals to be found in majority of labs for testing. Animal testing is so important in biomedical research for so many reasons, the most important being that animals are extremely similar to humans. This allows us to research short term and long term effects of diseases and so much more. 

Another issue that comes up quite a but is the use of stem cell research and gene editing. For example, many religious groups take issue with embryonic stem cell research claiming that an embryo is a human life. Actions and opinions like these really do stunt the progress and revelations that can be made in the field. Stem cells can help understand how disease over and test drug safety and effectiveness.

While there are more technical issues in BME, it is important to highlight the ethical issues in BME as they will always be ongoing and have the ability to go reach beyond the scientific community.

Some of the issues that biomedical engineers are facing especially now is the fact there is such a large variety and vast quantity of applications that can be used in the field. Biomedical engineers are seen in so many applications ranging from in the pharmaceuticals industry all the way to the cutting edge research on human brain computer interface. Because of this unlike other engineering fields, BME is in my opinion lacking in focus as the application of Biomedical engineering is so vast. Fresh graduates and prospective disciples of the field can often suffer from a lack of direction just because of the breadth of this subject and application. Because of this, I believe it can be a double edged sword in that, because the field is so vast, everyone can have a niche category that they can fill and many jobs can be fulfilled by the biomedical engineer and can be applied. However, the fact that it is unspecified, many other engineering disciplines can also equally fulfill the role. This can be seen most notably with the biomechanics discipline. the role of making a prosthetics can be fulfilled with someone who had studied mechanical engineering with the application of biology but also have the understanding of more specified scope that is needed by the company.

All in all, I believe as this discipline develops and is matured like the other engineering disciplines, it will garner a more focused scope that can fulfill certain big developments that can not be fulfilled by other engineering disciplines. 

@sseal98 I would have to agree with you in that particular point you made about BME lacking focus because the applications of it are so vast. That is probably the main reason why we as Biomedical Engineering majors do not see many job position postings for a "Biomedical Engineer". The positions geared to us are titled a number of various things like; Research Scientist, Technology Manager, Quality Engineer, etc. Our biggest competition other than other Biomedical Engineering Majors are those with a Mechanical Engineering background. This is especially the case when/if a person with a mechanical engineering background designs a healthcare related product, or any product where a client would want to use it for a health related application. That would basically make BME majors obsolete if more mechanical engineers were catering their area of expertise to the health industry. There is really no way around this other than just gaining a lot of experience from different areas earlier on in our careers, and then honing in our skills and trying to specialize them to one or 2 specific areas of expertise. 

I would agree with sseal98 as the the broad curricula and job variety for a biomedical engineering student can be applicable to many different engineering disciplines. There are many times an employer is looking for specific areas of knowledge and interest that the biomedical curriculum doesn't cover that a mechanical engineering or materials science graduate would have. There are usually no specified tracks for a biomedical engineer to fully immerse their self in that would give them a more competitive edge over another engineering field. The broad spectrum of classes ranging from bioengineering based classes to pharmaceutical transport to musculoskeletal engineering can give the student no grounding in one specific field. I know there are many times that the engineer will learn most of their tools for work on the job, but to get past the interviewing process, the saleability can be hard when compared to more SMEs in the field of the job. 

Another interesting part of biomedical engineering is it's broad spectrum that it encompasses. It does hinder younger engineers trying to start their careers, but it also shows with the amount of job variety there is. Two students who graduate from biomedical engineering have so many different technology branches where one may become more invested in the field of implants/instruments while the other may start to code programs for intelligent surgical robots. It is a boon to be able to see the field constantly grow with the technologies where you will never be cornered into a set path for one's career after studying biomedical engineering.  

In my experience in the industry thus far, I have heard that Biomedical Engineers have faced challenges to maintain and protect patient privacy. This is because in order for Biomedical Engineers to solve unmet biomedical needs, it is sometimes essential for them to look through patient history and data to see exactly what has worked and what has not worked in the past. This access to patient data would help lead to a better solution and drive innovation.

A lot of the previous posts agree that it is difficult for Biomedical Engineers to obtain a role due to the broad spectrum it encompasses. However, in my previous experiences I have found that the opposite can sometimes be true. Due to the wide range of material that Biomedical Engineers study, I believe that there are a lot of job opportunities applicable especially in the medical field. Due to the medical knowledge and laboratory skillset that Biomedical Engineers develop, they have a competitive edge when applying for jobs that encompass vaccine research, biomaterial development, and cellular therapeutics. These are just a few of some of the very interesting applications of the field. Additionally, I have even known and heard of many Biomedical Engineers that have pursued medical school post their undergraduate studies. These kinds of opportunities are not as readily apparent to engineers of other disciplines.  

The issues biomedical engineering companies face could differ based on whether it is a manufacturing or R&D field. But I think either ways, they do face issues on coming up with the right product that is cost effective and can be designed  relatively quicker that can be more productive in healthcare. Especially since healthcare dynamics are evolving, medical device companies tend to face increasingly competitive scenarios. Therefore, they have to come up with reduced cost of their product, streamline the operations and make the process faster. Being approved by FDA within their targeted time and keeping the cost of product development in check are also some of the challenges they face as any experiment requires running trial and error and taking financial and risks in general. 

Some of the applications of biomedical engineering could be anything from engineering an antibody for  fighting a cancer to coming up with a medical device that can replace an organ. Therefore, it requires understanding how cells and tissues interact with and amongst each other and how they interact with a metal and other solid materials. Therefore, biomedical engineering plays a great role in stem cells, bioinstrumentation and robotics prosthetics area.

I want to add, not as an exact issue of the application of Biomedical Engineering, but about the deal with job acquisition and what the major means. I originally joined Biomedical Engineering as a major to eventually work with prosthetics, as I am sure many others have in the past. However, after not doing enough research on my own, I realized that I would need a separate Orthopedics degree in order to do what I had thought about since I was a kid. After reaching this surprisingly strange conclusion I wasn't prepared for, I understand now that extra schooling is in my future, but there are also not many licensed orthopedic teaching locations around the US (much less close to NJ). Although I work for a medical device company I am happy with, am I really willing to sacrifice many more years of my time to get this separate degree when I am already content? Do other people that joined this major know that there may need to be specificity in ADDITION to our Biomedical Engineering degree to work for certain Biomedical Engineering applications? I know a lot of Mech E students that are doing similar stuff to us and maybe even more hands-on work that we won't be able to touch. Would an MS in Mech E assist with this? The major is so broad, but also so specific... It's crazy!

I believe that as a major, BME is facing the issue of not being broad enough. At NJIT students are encouraged to choose their track (biomaterials, biomechanics, or medical device and imaging) as soon as they enter NJIT and are required to choose a track by the end of their 2nd year. And during the first 2 years, the students are taking gen-ed classes as any other student would. However, once they have chosen the area to specialize in, only then are they opened up to classes that are related to the 3 fields of BME. The issue, I believe, with this approach is that students are not able to see in-depth what each field has to offer in terms of academia or industry. I believe that one way to mitigate this issue would be through having some upper-level classes introduced to the students during their 2nd year, where the students are given an insight into what the fields have to offer. 

In terms of application, I believe that there are just too many applications of BME for me to choose from! But I would say that tissue engineering and prosthetics would be the two applications that I think are highly ranked in terms of medical care for patients. 

In my experience, one of the most pressing issues in the field of biomedical engineering today is the need for a more comprehensive and interdisciplinary education. I'm currently a second-year student in the biomedical engineering program at NJIT (New Jersey Institute of Technology), and I believe that our classes should extend beyond the introductory level and encompass a broader range of subjects.

Biomedical engineering is inherently a multidisciplinary field, combining principles from engineering, biology, chemistry, and physics to address complex problems in healthcare. While introductory courses provide a solid foundation, it's essential for students like me to have the opportunity to explore more specialized areas within engineering, such as mechanical, electrical, and computer science.

This broader educational approach is crucial because biomedical engineering has evolved into a field with incredibly diverse applications. Some of the fascinating and impactful areas within biomedical engineering include:

Engineers in this field develop advanced imaging technologies like MRI, CT scans, and ultrasound, which are crucial for diagnosing and monitoring diseases and study the mechanics of the human body, helping to design prosthetic limbs, orthopedic devices, and even improving sports equipment to prevent injuries.

They also focus on using computational techniques to analyze biological data, including genomics, proteomics, and medical records, to make more informed healthcare decisions and work on creating precise and efficient methods for delivering drugs to targeted areas within the body, reducing side effects and improving treatment effectiveness and play a critical role in developing artificial organs, growing tissue in the lab for transplantation, and creating biocompatible materials for various medical applications.

Biomedical engineering is the application of engineering principles to solve health and health care problems. Using their knowledge of engineering, biology, and health care, biomedical engineers design medical equipment and processes that improve human health outcomes. Common examples of biomedical equipment used every day include pacemakers, blood glucose monitors, and artificial limbs.

Biomedical engineers have designed some of the most important medical devices https://medequipment.store/ used today from pulse-regulating pacemakers too easy to use blood glucose monitors.