Fundamentals of Biomedical Engineering Syllabus and Comprehensive Study Guide

Fundamentals of Biomedical Engineering: Course Overview and Rationale

• Course Code: 03062403PC01

• Academic Year: 2026-27 (Diploma Semester-3 BME)

• Prerequisites: Students must have a foundational knowledge base in physics, mathematics, biology, and elementary electronics to understand and apply biomedical engineering (BME) concepts effectively.

• Course Rationale:

  • Development of a foundational understanding regarding biomedical engineering principles, instrumentation, and emerging technologies.

  • Enhancement of analytical and application skills to interpret and solve problems in healthcare and medical systems.

  • Enabling the integration of engineering concepts into real-world biomedical applications.

Teaching and Evaluation Scheme

• Teaching Scheme (Hours/Credits):

  • Lectures ($L$): 3 units

  • Tutorial ($T$): 0 units

  • Practical ($P$): 0 units

  • Total Credits ($C$): 3

• Evaluation Scheme (Total 100 Marks):

  • Internal Evaluation:

    • Mid-Semester Evaluation ($MSE$): 20 marks

    • Continuous Evaluation ($CE$): 20 marks

  • External Evaluation:

    • End Semester Examination ($ESE$) Theory: 60 marks

Course Content Breakdown

Unit 1: Introduction to Biomedical Engineering

• Weightage: $25\%$

• Teaching Hours: 11 hours

• Core Concepts:

  • History and evolution of biomedical engineering as a discipline.

  • Specialty areas including Bio-instrumentation, Clinical Engineering, Rehabilitation Engineering, and Biomaterials.

  • Advanced fields: Computational biology, Bioinformatics, Medical Imaging Engineering, and Biomechanics.

  • Instrument Categories: Diagnostic medical instrumentation, Therapeutic medical instrumentation, and Analytical and optical instrumentation.

Unit 2: Measurement and Instrumentation in Healthcare

• Weightage: $25\%$

• Teaching Hours: 12 hours

• Core Concepts:

  • Contextual introduction to measurement systems and bio-instrumentation in healthcare.

  • The Man-Instrumentation System: Understanding the human-machine interface.

  • Basic Principles of Measurement: Defining and applying concepts of accuracy, precision, and sensitivity.

  • Medical Diagnostic Importance: The role of instrumentation in monitoring physiological parameters.

  • Challenges: Specific problems encountered when measuring parameters within living systems.

Unit 3: Advanced Measurement and Instrumentation

• Weightage: $20\%$

• Teaching Hours: 9 hours

• Core Concepts:

  • Continuous study of measurement systems and bio-instrumentation in healthcare contexts.

  • Detailed review of the man-instrumentation system blocks.

  • Application of measurement principles (accuracy, precision, sensitivity) to physiological diagnosis.

  • Analysis of problems unique to biological environments during measurement processes.

Unit 4: Transducers in Biomedical Engineering: Principles and Applications

• Weightage: $20\%$

• Teaching Hours: 8 hours

• Classification of Transducers:

  • Active Transducers: Includes piezoelectric, thermoelectric, and photoelectric (photovoltaic) type transducers.

  • Passive Transducers: Includes resistive (RTD and Thermistor), inductive (LVDT), and capacitive transducers.

• Temperature Measurement:

  • Systemic versus Skin surface temperatures.

  • Units of temperature measurement.

  • Thermometer Types: Digital thermometers and Mercury thermometers.

Unit 5: Biomedical Engineering Applications and Future Trends

• Weightage: $10\%$

• Teaching Hours: 5 hours

• Engineering Roles:

  • The role of the Biomedical Engineer in hospital settings.

  • The role of the Biomedical Engineer in manufacturing and industrial settings.

• Future Frontiers:

  • Current trends: Personalized medicine and Regenerative medicine.

  • Technology integration: Wearable technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML) based medical technology.

Recommended Literature and Reference Materials

• Biomedical Instrumentation and Measurements by Leslie Cromwell, Fred J. Weibell, and Erich A. Pfeiffer; Prentice Hall, New Delhi, 2nd Edition.

• Medical Instrumentation Application and Design by J. G. Webster; John Wiley & Sons, N.Y.

• Fundamentals of Biomedical Engineering by G. S. Sawhney; New Age International Publications, 2nd Edition.

• Biomedical Transducers by H. T. Kasipara.

• Handbook of Biomedical Instrumentation by R. S. Khandpur; Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2003.

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:

1. Define BME and recall its history and specialty areas.

2. Explain measurement systems and the role of bio-instrumentation in health.

3. Describe biomedical signals, electrode theory, and electrode-electrolyte interfaces.

4. Classify and select appropriate transducers for physiological measurements using transduction principles.

5. Analyze measurement problems in living systems and suggest solutions.

6. Evaluate professional roles and current technological trends like AI and wearables.

Fundamentals of Biomedical Engineering Laboratory (03062403PC02)

• Prerequisite: Basic knowledge of electrical circuits, human physiology, and measurement principles.

• Rationale: To develop practical understanding of instrumentation systems, bio-potential measurements, sensor evaluation, and safety practices.

• Teaching Scheme: 2 Practical hours per week ($P$), 1 Credit ($C$).

• Evaluation Scheme: 50 Total Marks (Internal CE: 50).

List of Practical Experiments

1. Identification of biomedical devices across various BME specialty areas.

2. Identification and rearrangement of the blocks of a man-instrumentation system.

3. Study of bio-potential concepts.

4. Demonstration of ECG, EMG, and EEG electrodes.

5. Identification of the process for the disposal of electrodes.

6. Identification of active and passive sensors/transducers and their applications.

7. Performance testing of RTDs (Resistance Temperature Detectors).

8. Performance testing of Thermistors.

9. Performance testing of Thermocouples.

10. Demonstration of LVDT (Linear Variable Differential Transformer) transducer operation.

11. Performance testing of Capacitive transducers.

12. Operation of Strain Gauge transducers.

13. Body temperature measurement using a mercury thermometer.

14. Body temperature measurement using a digital thermometer.

15. Operation of Piezoelectric transducers.

16. Oxygen saturation measurement using a photoelectric transducer.

17. Identification of current trends in BME.

Theoretical Lesson Plan Schedule

• June 9, 2026: Introduction to BME - History and evolution.

• June 10, 2026: Specialty areas in BME; Bio-instrumentation and Clinical Engineering.

• June 16, 2026: Rehabilitation engineering and patient assistance.

• June 17, 2026: Biomaterials (properties/applications) and Computational biology/Bioinformatics.

• June 23, 2026: Medical Imaging Engineering principles.

• June 24, 2026: Biomechanics and Diagnostic instrumentation review.

• June 30, 2026: Therapeutic medical instrumentation devices.

• July 1, 2026: Analytical/Optical instrumentation; Measurement systems introduction.

• July 7, 2026: Man-instrumentation system block diagrams.

• July 8, 2026: Principles of measurement; Accuracy and precision definitions.

• July 14, 2026: Sensitivity analysis in healthcare devices.

• July 15, 2026: Monitoring importance and Physiological parameter techniques.

• July 21, 2026: Role of instruments in diagnosing conditions.

• July 22, 2026: Problems in living system measurements; Artifacts and interference.

• July 28, 2026: Review of measurements and error analysis.

• July 29, 2026: Biomedical signals and Bio-electric/Bio-acoustic signal analysis.

• August 4, 2026: Biomechanical and Biochemical signal characteristics.

• August 5, 2026: Bio-magnetic and Bio-optical signals; Bio-impedance signals.

• August 11, 2026: Electrode theory: Electrode-electrolyte interface and half-cell potentials.

• August 12, 2026: Electrode types and Surface/Disposable electrodes.

• August 25, 2026: Electrode disposal and environmental safety.

• August 26, 2026: Transducer classification and general transduction principles.

• September 1, 2026: Active transducers (Piezoelectric, Thermoelectric).

• September 2, 2026: Photoelectric/Photovoltaic transducers; Passive transducers (RTD, Thermistor).

• September 8, 2026: Inductive (LVDT) and Capacitive transducers.

• September 9, 2026: Temperature measurement (Systemic/Skin) and Digital thermometers.

• September 15, 2026: Mercury thermometers and safe handling.

• September 16, 2026: Roles of Biomedical engineers in hospitals and industries.

• September 22, 2026: Future trends in BME.

• September 23, 2026: Advanced medicine (Personalized/Regenerative) and AI/Wearables.

Laboratory Instruction Schedule

• June 12, 2026: Device identification across BME areas.

• June 19, 2026: Functional blocks of man-instrumentation systems.

• June 26, 2026: Bio-potential characteristics study.

• July 3, 2026: Construction and working of ECG, EMG, EEG electrodes.

• July 10, 2026: Biomedical electrode disposal procedure.

• July 17, 2026: Active and passive sensor identification.

• July 24, 2026: Analysis of RTD performance.

• July 31, 2026: Analysis of Thermistor performance.

• August 7, 2026: Analysis of Thermocouple performance.

• August 14, 2026: LVDT transducer operation.

• August 21, 2026: Capacitive transducer performance testing.

• August 28, 2026: Strain gauge operation and characteristics.

• September 4, 2026: Mercury thermometer body temperature measurement.

• September 11, 2026: Digital thermometer body temperature measurement.

• September 18, 2026: Piezoelectric transducer applications.

• September 25, 2026: Oxygen saturation via photoelectric transducer.

• October 2, 2026: Identification of emerging BME trends.