Course outlines

Course Code: BIOM1010
Course Name: Engineering in Medicine and Biology
UoC: 6
Term: T2
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

This course introduces the field of biomedical engineering. Topics include:

• a basic introduction to biological systems
• the engineering approach to biological systems
• the application of basic engineering concepts to solving biomedical problems, with examples from cutting-edge technologies such as the artificial heart, bionic eye, magnetic resonance imaging and tissue engineering.

Course Code: BIOM2451
Course Name: Biomechanics for Sports Scientists
UoC: 6
Term: T1
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

Note: This course is NOT available to students enrolled in an Engineering program.

This course focuses on the basic principles of biomechanics and applies them to the analysis of human movement and the musculoskeletal system. Basic mechanics (statics, kinematics and dynamics) will be studied in two dimensions. Topics include:

• the biomechanics of the human gait – walking and running
• the mechanics of tissues in the musculoskeletal system
• methods of assessing movement – quantitative and qualitative

Course Code: BIOM9020
Course Name: Masters Project A
UoC: 6
Term: T3
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

 This course includes:

• developing a design or a process or investigating a hypothesis following industry and professional engineering standards
• critically reflecting on a specialist body of knowledge related to their thesis topic
• applying scientific and engineering methods to solve an engineering problem.
• analysing data objectively using quantitative and mathematical method

Course Code: BIOM9914
Course Name: Masters Project B
UoC: 6
Term: T3
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

 This course includes:

• evaluating and critically reviewing the scientific literature
• Writing a scientific report and communicating scientific findings to an educated audience
• Designing, carrying out, analysing and reporting on research tasks

Course Code: BIOM9027
Course Name: Medical Imaging
UoC: 6
Term: T3
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

 This course includes:

• the fundamentals of producing a medical image
• image collection techniques
• image reconstruction algorithms
• image analysis methods
• demonstrate oral and written communication in professional and lay domains.
• to solve biomedical problems by applying all of the above

Course Code: BIOM9311
Course Name: Mass Transfer in Medicine
UoC: 6
Term: T3
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

The focus of this course is mass transfer in the living organism and in extracorporeal medical devices. It includes:

• principles of diffusion and convection
• models of gas transfer in the lung
• transfer of solutes at the capillary level
• haemodialysis, haemofiltration, plasma filtration and blood oxygenators
• transfer across the peritoneal membrane-dialysis or drug delivery
• drug delivery across the skin

Course Code: BIOM9332
Course Name: Biocompatibility
UoC: 6
Term: T2
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window
Assumed knowledge: Not recommended for Stage 2 and 3 students

This course includes:

• the interaction of biological fluids and cells with foreign surfaces
• in vitro tests to assess biocompatibility and thrombogenicity
• the current status of biocompatible materials as applied to extracorporeal systems
• surgical implants and prosthetic devices

Course Code: BIOM9333
Course Name: Cellular and Tissue Engineering
UoC: 6
Term: T3
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

This course outlines the concepts of cell-based products for the pharmaceutical and medical industries from both a theoretical and practical perspective.

It will cover the basis of how proteins are produced by cells; recombinant technologies to produce proteins and biologics from bacterial, mammalian and viral systems; process design and optimisation needed for commercial production of biologicals; case studies of currently manufactured biological products; cell isolation including blood and progenitor cells; and translation of these technologies for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. A combination of lectures, tutorials, laboratory classes and a site visit are included in this course.

Course Code: BIOM9410
Course Name: Regulatory Requirements for Biomedical Technology
UoC: 6
Term: T1
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

The regulatory requirements of medical devices in Australia, Japan, North America and Europe will be reviewed in this course. The aims of this course are to:

• give a broad overview the regulation of medical devices around the world and
• relate these regulations to the development and marketing of a variety of medical devices

Course Code: BIOM9420
Course Name: Clinical Laboratory Science
UoC: 6
Term: T2
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

This course has been designed to provide students with a taste of some of the many different aspects of clinical medicine where biomedical engineers are of fundamental importance for the development of instrumentation to diagnose and monitor diseases. 

It is focused on the fundamental science that underlies some of the diagnostic tests and the students are encouraged to explore how biomedical engineers have taken these fundamentals and made them work within a diagnostic laboratory environment.

The course will cover the technologies, tests and operation of a variety of clinical laboratory testing systems (biochemistry, haematology and immunology) and how they apply to a particular organ or system. The students will also be exposed to the underlying principles involved in the measurement of certain physiological parameters from some of the complex organ systems including the urinary, cardiac and gastro-intestinal systems. An important component of the course is two practical sessions. The first focuses on the fundamentals of enzyme biochemistry and how this might be useful in generating a test for a particular disease and the second will build upon this knowledge to design, fabricate and test a diagnostic test strip for glucose.

Course Code: BIOM9450
Course Name: Clinical Information Systems
UoC: 6
Term: T3
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

This course introduces medical informatics with a focus on healthcare information and communications technology, including:

• evidence-based medicine and clinical decision support systems
• physiological measurements and telehealth systems
• medical coding and classification
• standards for medical data interchange
• aspects of database design, dynamic HTML and web services

Students will learn HTML, Structured Query Language (SQL) and PHP scripting and use these tools by way of tutorials and a major project.

Course Code: BIOM9541
Course Name: Mechanics of the Human Body
UoC: 6
Term: T3
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

This course covers in-depth methods used in the analysis of the biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system. It includes:

• methods to analyse body segment and joint kinematics
• joint kinetics
• work and power
• muscle forces and associated energy cost
• applications of biomechanics in clinical, occupational and recreational areas

Course Code: BIOM9561
Course Name: Mechanical Properties of Biomaterials
UoC: 6
Term: T3
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

This course covers the physical properties of materials having significance to biomedical engineering, including human tissues; skin; soft tissues; bone; metals; polymers and ceramics; as well as the effects of degradation and corrosion.

Course Code: BIOM9621
Course Name: Biological Signal Analysis
UoC: 6
Term: T3
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

Note: Basic electronics and mathematics background required

 This course focuses on the use of digital computers to extract information from biological signals. It covers:

• signal processing using filtering, averaging, curve-fitting and related techniques
• analysis using model simulations, correlation, spectral analysis etc.

Course Code: BIOM9640
Course Name: Biomedical Instrumentation
UoC: 6
Term: T3
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

This course is an introduction to physiological measurement of bioelectric phenomena and neurostimulation. Its aim is to give you an understanding of the physical principles that govern the measurement of a biological variable or system by a transducer, which converts the variable into an electrical signal.

By the end of the course you should understand various measurement devices and approaches including the underlying biological process that generates the quantity to be measured or controlled. The basic medical instrumentation used clinically to perform these functions is also examined.

The course has a focus on bioelectric phenomena, bioelectrodes, medical electronics and neurostimulation. It includes a revision of DC and AC circuit theory, hands-on practice in the use and testing of medical transducers and electromedical equipment commonly used in hospitals and research laboratories to make measurements of biomedical variables of clinical significance. 

Course Code: BIOM9650
Course Name: Biosensors and Transducers
UoC: 6
Term: T1
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

This course is an introduction to physiological measurement using biosensors and transducers. Its aim is to give you an understanding of the physical principles that govern the measurement of a biological variable or system by a transducer, which converts the variable into an electrical signal.

By the end of the course you should understand various measurement devices and approaches including the underlying biological process that generates the quantity to be measured or controlled. The basic biosensors and transducers used to measure pressure, flow, volume and biochemical sensing are examined along with aspects of imaging instrumentation. 

Course Code: BIOM9660
Course Name: Bionics and Neuromodulation
UoC: 6
Term: T2
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

This course is an introduction to the engineering issues related to implantable bionics for therapeutic electrical stimulation of neural and muscle tissue. Its aim is to give you an understanding of the requirements (electrical, mechanical, chemical, etc.) of implantable neurostimulators.

During the course, in small groups students will conduct extensive practical tasks to reinforce the material presented in the lectures and tutorials.

Course Code: BIOM9701
Course Name: Dynamics of the Cardiovascular System
UoC: 6
Term: T1
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

Assumed knowledge: Basic physics and calculus. Familiarity with MATLAB desirable.

This course covers the structure of the heart, organisation of the mammalian vasculature, the mechanical, electrical and metabolic aspects of cardiac pumping, solid and fluid mechanics of blood vessels, the rheology of blood, as well as biomedical engineering applications in the cardiovascular system. 

Course Code: BIOM9711
Course Name: Modelling Organs, Tissues and Devices
UoC: 6
Term: T1
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

Assumed knowledge: Calculus and differential equations. Familiarity with MATLAB desirable.

Computer modelling of complex physiological systems and their interaction with medical devices is becoming increasingly important in modern medical device design. This course provides a practical overview of computational modelling in bioengineering, focusing on a range of applications including:

• electrical stimulation of neural and cardiac tissues
• implantable drug delivery
• cancer therapy
• biomechanics
• blood flow
• 3D surface techniques for realistic modelling and visualisation of organs, tissues and devices.

Course Code: BIOM9811
Course Name: Applications of Light in Engineering, Technology and the Life Sciences
UoC: 6
Term: T1
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

This course will culminate in a design project where students will learn how to design, build and test diverse light based detection, sensing and imaging systems. On the completion of the course students will be able use light to measure, probe and interrogate diverse effects in various industrial and clinical scenarios and in the environment.

Course Code: BIOM9914
Course Name: Masters Project
UoC: 6
Term: T3
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

 This course includes:

• Evaluate and critically review the scientific literature
• Write a scientific report and communicate scientific findings to an educated audience
• Design, carry out, analyse and report on research tasks

Course Code: ENGG3060, opens in a new window (UG) ENGG3060, opens in a new window (PG) 
Course Name: Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology
UoC: 6
Term: T2 (3UOC) + T3 (3UOC) = 6UOC
Class Details: Timetable and contact information, opens in a new window

Check out this video giving you an exciting overview of the course: View HERE, opens in a new window

ENGG3060 – Biomechanics of Physical Rehabilitation is an exciting and real-world, hands-on course where you will co-design with a real client to design and prototype a device that assists in the life of a person with a disability.

The course is spread across Term 2 and Term 3 (3UoC + 3UoC = 6UoC), enabling students time to build a robust relationship with their client and to design and build a working prototype of their rehabilitation device.

At the end of the year there will be a showcase event where students can present their work to their clients and industry. 

 
All engineering students are welcome to apply, not just Biomedical Engineering students.  

For students enrolled in the BE/MBiomedE and MBiomedE programs, ENGG3060 will count towards your program as an equivalent of BIOM9551. For students in other programs, ENGG3060 may count towards your program as a discipline elective.

The 2022 course outline will be updated soon. 

Any questions email challeng@unsw.edu.au, opens in a new window or talk to Student Support Services.