Spring 2008 Offerings

BME 295 (Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering) and BME 299 (Independent Study in Biomedical Engineering) are available. Please see an instructor in the program if you have an interest in one of these courses.

Course Descriptions

Course descriptions are provided here for only those courses with a temporary course number such as BME 300-XX. Undergraduate and Graduate course descriptions are provided at the BME website under either the BS Degree Program Description or the Graduate Program Handbook.

BME 295-01/300 Drug Delivery
Current methodologies used in drug delivery, including aerosol technologies, polymeric controlled release systems, genetic/viral based delivery systems, and implantable devices, will be covered. Mathematical techniques for modeling design, delivery, and release of drugs will also be covered.

BME 295-02/381 Computational Cell Biology for Biomedical Engineers
In the last decade, interdisciplinary science has established itself as a leading area of scientific investigation. The use of physics and mathematics to help understand biological systems hints at being one of the major scientific frontiers of this coming century. This course looks at biology at three separate length scales: molecular, cellular, and organismal/population. We will find that the math/physics of elasticity, hydrodynamics, statistical mechanics and reaction/diffusion can explain a broad range of phenomena throughout these size ranges. This course stresses the physical intuition of how to apply quantitative methods to the study of biology through the use of dimensional analysis, analytic calculation and computer modeling.

BME 295-03/382 Computational Genomics
Started in 1995 by the completion of the first genome sequence of a free-living organism, H. influenzae, the genomic era has already led to hundreds of complete genome sequences deposited in public databases and many more genome projects at various stages of completion. The large-scale availability of genome data is revolutionizing biological and medical research, with data-driven computational approaches taking a central role. This course covers recent advances in computational methods for genomic data analysis. The main emphasis is on statistical methods and current applications in genomics.

BME 295-04/05 LabView Basics for Biomedical Engineers
The LabVIEW Basics course introduces the LabVIEW programming environment. The fundamentals of using graphical programming to collect, analyze, display and store data are covered. Learn techniques for designing stand alone applications, creating interactive user interfaces and optimizing data flow. No prior knowledge of LabVIEW is required. Knowledge of software programming and instrumentation is helpful.

BME 295-06/342 Advanced Optical Microscopy and Bio-Imaging
This course will cover several aspects of state of the art biological and biophysical imaging. We will focus on advanced techniques including nonlinear optical processes (multi-photon excitation, second harmonic generation, and stimulated Raman processes), as well as optical coherence tomography.  3 lab projects will supplement the lectures, providing hands-on experience with nonlinear optical methods.  Special emphasis will be given to current imaging literature and experimental design. Successful completion of “Current Topics in Optical Microscopy and Bio-imaging” is a prerequisite for this course or requires permission of the instructor.

BME 295-07/08 LabView Intermediate for Biomedical Engineers
The LabVIEW Intermediate course introduces structured practices to design, test, and use LabVIEW applications. Recommended development techniques for hierarchical VI development, event-based architectures, user-interface design, error handling and documentation are covered. Learn to extend application functionality and reduce development time by using connectivity technologies such as DLLs, ActiveX, and the Internet. Prerequisite: LabVIEW Basics for Biomedical Engineers or permission of the instructor.

BME 295/300 Mechanics of Life (proteins and cells)
The interplay between molecules, cells, and their viscous surrounding are important in determining physical behavior at the micro- and nano- scales.  Mechanics at the micro- and nano-scales can be different from mechanics at the macroscale. Therefore, quantitative engineering, chemical and physical principles will be applied to understand the molecular mechanics associated with the function of these molecules.  Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding the molecular mechanical behavior of proteins that form the cytoskeleton and proteins that act as motors. Scale-dependent mechanical behavior will be studied as it applies to understanding cellular mechanics. Prerequisites: BME 261W

BME 295/300 Tissue Biomechanics
This course focuses on the application of solid mechanics to describe the mechanical behavior of soft biological tissues, both native and engineered. The course will introduce the tools necessary to model soft tissues, including the essential mathematics, kinematics of deformation and motion, stress, constitutive relations. The basic biomechanics principles will be learned and reinforced by identifying, formulating and solving problems related to tendon, cardiac and vascular tissues. Experimental methods and computational techniques on simulating tissue functions will also be introduced. Prerequisites: BME 261W