Biomedical Engineering
Programme Overview
Biomedical engineering is at the intersection of engineering, the life sciences and healthcare. Biomedical
engineers take principles from applied science (including mechanical, electrical, chemical and computer
engineering) and physical sciences (including physics, chemistry and mathematics) and apply them to biology and medicine.
Although the human body is a more complex system than even the most sophisticated machine, many of
the same concepts that go into building and programming a machine can be applied to biological structures and systems leading to new diagnostic and therapeutic tools.
The goal is to better understand, replace or fix a target system to ultimately improve the quality of living and healthcare.
Biomedical engineers become involved in research and development, spanning a broad array of subfields:
biofabrication, bioprinting, biomechanics, biomaterials, tissue engineering, neural engineering, medical devices, clinical engineering, medical imaging.
Prominent biomedical engineering applications include the development of biocompatible prostheses, various diagnostic and therapeutic medical devices ranging from clinical equipment to micro-implants, advanced imaging methods such as MRIs and EEGs as well as development of regenerative materials, engineered tissues and artificial organs.
Biomedical engineering is one of the fastest-growing careers and this trend is expected to continue over the next decade. Ireland’s medical technology sector has evolved into a global leader for medical device and diagnostic products, with exports annually exceeding €12bn. Ireland has over 450 companies involved in developing, manufacturing and marketing medical devices. These include Abbott, Bayer, Becton Dickinson, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, Guidant, Medtronic and Stryker. These companies have a strong demand for high quality graduates at the master’s and Ph.D. level because of the high technical level of their products.
Application Details
Students who wish to study biomedical engineering apply to the general Engineering degree (TR032).
The first two years are common to all engineering students and at the end of the second-year students select biomedical engineering.