The differences and similarities between the professions: medical engineering, medical technologist, and biomedical engineering

The information here is intended to enlighten the eyes of those who are debating between working in academia, working in a hospital clinic, working in a medical equipment development/import company or scientific equipment, and who are debating whether and what to study among these three professions and where: in an academy or in a college

The accelerated development of medical technology all over the world in the last decade and a half, has resulted in the arrival of innovative technologies in operating rooms and hospital wards. This is how you can find surgical robots, hybrid operating rooms, sophisticated devices for diagnosis and treatment using non-invasive methods (the technology makes it possible to treat the body from the outside without operating), advanced imaging devices such as MRI and FMRI for hospitals, university medical institutes and research bodies.
The combination between technology and medicine created and creates a need! Need to understand the parameters displayed on the displays/screens of the medical equipment and knowledge of its operation based on essential medical knowledge of: the doctors, nurses, and technologists. As the amount of medical devices increases and invasive medicine decreases - the need for biomedical engineers, technologists, biotechnologists, electronics and mechanical engineers increases and increases.
Indeed, they are considered and essential today in every hospital and medical institute - they actually constitute an interface between the technological world and the world of medicine, and their value is very valuable and important in the process of the medical procedure that is carried out by the medical teams that are directly responsible for the patient's life and his nursing until he recovers.
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In the world it is customary to distinguish between biomedical engineering and clinical biomedical engineering (this is the medical engineering that is found in hospitals). The field as a whole deals with the research and development of medical devices and biologically smart plastic products that are inserted into the body or connect to it externally, and their integration within the health systems both in hospitals and within home use.
The vocation of the biomedical engineering person is to be an engineering authority: for research and development, for guidance, consulting, planning, writing procedures, with regard to medical technology/medical equipment - for the purpose of ensuring its suitability, quality and safety and its use in the field.
The biomedical engineering subject taught in academia and colleges is divided into two fields of study:

• Biomedical engineering studied in universities for bachelor's, master's and master's degrees.
• Clinical Medical Engineering (Medical Engineering) studied in engineering colleges as a B.SC. And there are already graduates from them who started a master's degree at the university. Today it is also possible to study for a master's degree in some colleges.

The field is multidisciplinary and some examples are given: since the human body is a very sophisticated biological, chemical and electrical system, biomedical engineering studies exactly all of these. Investigates the chemical and electrical biological systems (conduction) in the body. Subjects such as: neural electrical conduction, electrical potentials, neuron systems in the brain, nanoelectronics, microbiology, circulation systems in the body, the body's self-healing abilities, building scaffolds for the body from smart biomaterials, the strength of the skeleton, artificial implants, biological glue, replacement body organs are studied. From collagen (which will be printed with a XNUMXD printer), capsules for taking pictures of the intestines, tiny robots that carry medicine for spot treatment of a specific organ in the body, processes of introducing stem cells into the body that will lead to tissue regeneration to prevent Alzheimer's and organ regeneration. Ultrasound to dissolve blood clots, which in the future will replace catheterization with X-ray radiation and more.

• Comments:
• In the next decade, we will hear more and more about stem cells and the healing that is created thanks to them, the idea is that fresh and young cells will be injected into the body and help it to heal a damaged tissue or organ. The result is life extension already in our generation.
• Science today is closer than ever to creating man in June. A person whose part will be normal tissue and part metal, and there are already scientists such as Prof. Stephen Hawking who warn us all against this "mutation" that will make us mortal, unnecessary.

Forecast for medical technologies for the next decade:

•  Stem cells and electronic biological components: will be inserted into the body and will help it heal the damaged organ or disease, as well as the brain: brain pacemakers (similar to heart pacemakers), tissue-building pacemakers, point-of-care drugs to treat the specific cancer, artificial biological cells to eliminate diseases. - Result: tissue renewal and recovery And hence also the possibility of extending life.
• Non-invasive medical and scientific technologies for treatment and diagnosis and outside the body: electrodes and helmets for the diagnosis and treatment of cognitive problems and glasses for the use of family doctors and medical teams to view internal body parts, and to measure EKG and stortion and heart rate and blood pressure with the ability to transfer the information, photographed and written, for viewing and consultation with a senior expert . It will be a type of sophisticated stethoscope that provides a quick response for use by doctors in clinics outside and inside hospitals. Hint! The smartphone will be part of all these technologies.
• Science today is closer than ever to creating artificial body parts and creating a human in June. A person whose part will be rubber tissues and collagen (the size of tobacco leaves) and printed with a XNUMXD printer and part mechanics and electronics. This person is actually what we once thought of as science fiction is now becoming a reality, and can be used by humanity to perform difficult physical tasks, to keep the president and prime minister safe, to locate tunnels and explosives, and even to fly a plane and drive our car.
• Robots for use in medicine: doctors-surgeons of the heart, brain, and back, can already now and even more in the future use physically small and smart robots that are a tool to achieve extreme precision in the specific area of ​​the body and with minimal opening of the body. The costs of using the items around them will decrease and therefore their use will also increase and the days of hospitalization after surgery will decrease. And robots for wards in hospitals: they will be an auxiliary device for the medical teams in the hospitals - they will provide medicine to each patient in the ward according to what was planned/pre-planned for him, they will measure his temperature and blood pressure, register and record - and they will also bring laundry for him from the hospital laundry.

The main characteristic in the field of biomedical engineering is research:
Those engaged in this field are mainly academics (the biomedical engineering departments in universities, the faculties of engineering and medicine, the Weizmann Institute, and biotechnological development companies). - In fact, when this profession began about 60 years ago, it began as planning and development research that took place in universities, and then the industrial plants that created the product itself were built. to the field and called both then and now "biomedical engineering" but! Since the industry slowly began to successfully produce sophisticated medical devices, the need arose for electronics, mechanical, computer, and mechatronics engineers to work in the industry and develop and produce them. And since the devices also began to be sold with great success to hospitals, a need arose in the hospitals for technical departments that would maintain it and teach the medical staff how to operate it, have a stock of spare parts and specific technical knowledge that would enable them to repair it. And so a derivative called medical engineering / clinical biomedical engineering was created.

The main characteristic in the field of clinical medical engineering is the practice/application in the field:
In the hospitals, the main person who treats us directly are the doctors and nurses, and they need the technologies (medical equipment and accompanying equipment) which are the means for surgeries, medical treatments, and diagnosis. Since it is an electronic and mechanical device and in the last decade and a half also computerized, there is a need for its repair and maintenance and for this purpose there are medical engineering departments in hospitals that are a technical center, a service and knowledge center. The clinical medical engineering department in hospitals deals with issues of repair and preventive care for the medical and laboratory equipment, and in recent years it has also been added to provide solutions for products/items made of smart and new materials, types of plastic, metal, rubber, and biological electronic cards - which are related smart products that are used with the medical equipment in homes Patients and screening and imaging institutes-

Her main areas of employment are:

• Technical repair of the medical and laboratory instruments and equipment and semi-annual or annual maintenance in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions or the procedures of the Ministry of Health (if any).
• Advising the purchasing department on technical issues before making the purchase: the functionality of the equipment (considerations of the operating party), the performance of the device compared to its competitors, ease of operation, operating times, duration of preparation for operation, considerations in the field of safety and maintenance (current maintenance and breakdown maintenance). Technological generation of the device, ability to perform UPGRADING, reliability, quality of service and availability of the importer (the company from which you purchase).
• Cost: the cost of the device, the cost of maintaining it, the cost of the consumables that are used regularly with the device, the cost of regular operation (kits, etc.) and more.
• Medical engineering is the party that performs the technical and functional survey and characterization for the purchasing department, and according to the evaluation results, a procurement specification is prepared that becomes a tender that is distributed to importing companies and/or on the hospital or medical institute website. The specification usually contains the definition of the device and its performance, accessories, acceptance test, quality assurance requirements, maintenance system, technical literature and more.
• Medical engineering defines the infrastructure required to receive the device in the ward or operating room in the hospital such as: infrastructure and consumption - electricity, water, sewage, air conditioning.
• Upon receipt of the device, an acceptance test is performed, the purpose of which is to verify that the necessary device has arrived (with all appendices, such as a service and operating manual and international standard approval) and that it is in good working order and ready for use.
• If a special installation is needed, it is coordinated between the department and the importer of the device. The medical engineering personnel are present to supervise the installation process, and at the same time (if possible) also receive instruction from the importer's service engineer, about the device and its internal parts and its routine maintenance. And then technical training in its operation is coordinated with the device supplier for the medical staff, and in its ongoing maintenance for the medical technologists and in its semi-annual and annual maintenance for the medical engineering staff.
• Medical engineering determines the frequency of treatment for each device in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions or the procedures of the Ministry of Health, and repairs it when necessary or sends it to the importer for repair. Also makes sure to stock up on spare parts.
• Sometimes the members of the department go abroad for training at the manufacturers of the device and thus they manage to maintain professional competence and the ability to provide a high-quality and fast solution to any malfunction.
• Professional contact with corresponding parties in Israel and abroad, participation in safety committee meetings, advice to the purchasing department on the nature and quality of the equipment nominated to be purchased.
• Management of a spare parts warehouse and a library of operating and service manuals.
• Trainings for medical teams.
• Consulting and obtaining information for the hospital's doctors and the procurement department about modern technologies and more...

In addition to everything that has been said so far, there is another important profession today in hospitals and medical institutes - medical technologists
Medical technologists: study at the college for two years medical subjects along with engineering subjects such as: physics, electricity, chemistry, electronics - and another 10 months of clinical experience in a hospital in two specialties of their choice. And their contribution today is decisive and important in the operation of the devices according to the doctor's order and their day-to-day maintenance.

Their role according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health is to operate the medical device for treatment or diagnosis according to the order and supervision of a doctor, they are for example: those who test us with heart stress tests, or heart and kidney ultrasound, or put a device on our body to monitor blood pressure, or sleep. And in the hospitals, they implement the many smart technologies in operating rooms and wards - for example: the surgical robots, the equipment for laparoscopy, and perform daily tests for life support devices such as ventilators and anesthesia machines. Most of them specialize in operation and the medical knowledge they learned helps them a lot in this - some of them choose to work repairing the instruments in the medical engineering department or as application and sales people in medical equipment importing companies.

Summary: In order for a modern hospital to fulfill its mission with quality treatment and healing and for the sick person to go home healthy, the aforementioned technical, logistical, and medical teams are an important part of helping the medical staff who are in charge of the patients' lives, such as: surgeons, nursing teams Department managers, and responsible nurses, and also advise in technical areas for the procedures and risk management department, purchasing and inventory department, safety department, engineering and maintenance department.

You can imagine a hospital as if it were an airplane - receiving the patient and starting the medical procedure is similar to receiving the passenger with their luggage at the airport. The process of anesthetizing the patient, which is carried out by the anesthesiologist with the help of the medical and nursing staff around him, is similar to the removal process. And the medical procedure performed by the surgeon and the nurses around him is similar to the process of the flight itself. And the process of finishing the surgery and noting the patient, who is accompanied by the same medical team, is similar to the landing process.

* It is possible to simulate the work of the medical team (doctors and nurses) to the work of a pilot! Direct responsibility for human life. During surgery or hospitalization in the ward, the life of the person/patient depends on the doctors and the nursing teams and the managers of the hospitalization departments! - in fact, these teams are directly related to the treatment of the disease (the doctors) and the treatment in response to the disease and the management of the treatment and bringing in experts and carrying out their instructions is the responsibility of the nursing teams (brothers and sisters).

It can be said - that the work of the technicians, technologists, maintenance, administration, procurement, security, acceptance and release - is to provide a technical, logistical and administrative response to the medical teams who are directly entrusted with the lives of the patients, for the sake of achieving the common goal. Everyone works together as a team for the patient! - If the captains of the state and the public - will know how to treat the hospitals and their teams as they treat the defense aviation industry and the airport and passenger planes - our health system will be preserved forever! And the hospital staffs will continue their sacred work and promote more and more the well-known Israeli health enterprise in the whole world.