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Bioengineering course for the Benjamin Franklin
Scholars Program
Instructor: Beth Winkelstein, Bioengineering
This course will
provide an in-depth examination of technology and its impact on medicine,
with an emphasis on the intersection of engineering with medicine and
health. Basic foundations of
historical perspective, constraints on technological development, and the
promise and peril of technological impact on medicine will be
discussed. Modules will also focus
on specific technological advances which have had significant impact on
the field of medicine. These
include: imaging and diagnosis of disease, genetic therapy and
pharmacology, and rehabilitative devices, assistive devices and
transplantation.
The course is geared
to all students interested in aspects of medicine and engineering and
applied science. Reading will integrate topics of the
impact of technology on medicine with specific major technologies, as
well as examine societal issues related to effects on human nature and
the future of biotechnology. The
course will be discussion-based and structured around readings of primary
sources, commentaries, and publications in the literature. Discussions will be augmented by guest
lecturers in the fields of medicine and engineering, as well as those
from technology driven research sectors.
Throughout the term, students will be expected to select a
specific technology to follow in the medical, scientific and engineering,
as well as popular and lay literature and discuss its applications and
impact.
Pre-requisite or co-requisite: First year college physics, chemistry, and biology
or AP credits; Sophomore and higher classes only.
Grading: 45%
Homework & Writing Assignments;
20% Midterm;
15% Final Presentation;
20% Final Paper
Textbook: Bulkpack of isolated
book chapters & journal articles
Selected
References:
Science and Technology in Medicine: An
Illustrated Account Based on Ninety-Nine Landmark Publications from Five
Centuries. A Gedeon, Springer, 2006.
Insight & Industry: On the Dynamics of
Technological Change in Medicine.
SS Blume, MIT Press, 1991.
Enabling Technologies in Rehabilitation. M MacLachlan, P
Gallagher, Churchill Livingstone, 2004.
Our
Posthuman Future: Consequences of the
Biotechnology Revolution. F Fukuyama,
Picador, 2003.
Technology & the Future of Health Care:
Preparing for the Next 30 Years.
D Ellis, Wiley, 2001.
Course Outline (2 meetings per
week for 13 weeks):
Week 1: Introduction; Historical Perspective; Framework
for Discussions
Week 2: Constraints & Concerns (“Pros and
Cons of Technology” in Medicine)
Weeks 3 & 4: Immunophenotyping (technologies: biomedical
platforms, FACS, combined immuno- and molecular
phenotyping; medical applications: AIDS,
transplantation, pathology detection)
Weeks 5 & 6: Genetic
Therapies & Gene Delivery
(technologies: viral vectors, non-viral; monitoring therapy; medical
applications: cancer, CNS repair, cardiovascular disease)
Weeks 7 & 8: Pharmaceuticals;
Neuropharmacologics (technologies: biopolymers,
microreactors, BioMEMs;
medical applications: diabetes, pain, stroke & Alzheimer’s
disease)
Weeks 9 & 10: Imaging
& Medical Diagnostic Techniques (technologies: 4D ultrasound, MR,
FRET, microarrays, biosensors; medical
applications: image-guided surgery, cancer, disease detection)
Weeks 11 & 12: Rehabilitative
& Assistive Devices; Transplants & Artificial Organs
(technologies: robotics & prosthetics, cardiac assist devices &
replacements, transplant, tissue engineering; medical applications:
dialysis, cardiac disease, sensorimotor
systems, rehabilitation)
Week 12: Trends for Future Impacts
Week 13: Student project presentations
Person(s) Preparing Description and Date:
Beth Winkelstein
July 2007
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