Biomedical Engineering Courses | 2024-2025 Academic Catalog | SIU

This course introduces the students to the following topics in biomedical engineering: history of biomedical engineering, bridging the gap between engineering and medical sciences, career outlook, bioethics, anatomy and physiology, biomechanics, bioelectricity, bioinstrumentation, bioinformatics, neuroengineering, tissue engineering, biosensors, biomedical signal and image processing, biophotonics, and physiological modeling. Lecture and laboratory. Restricted to BME majors. Project-based fee: $50.

Credit Hours: 3

Introduction to interpreted programming languages and programming principles. Introduction to programming microcontrollers. Covered materials will have an emphasis on their relationship to aspects of robotics. Co-requisite: BME 296L. Prerequisite: ECE 222 with a grade of C or better.

Credit Hours: 2

Hands-on application of microcontrollers for developing basic biometric and medical applications and performing data acquisition using various sensors. Application of interpreted programming languages to interact with various hardware. Application of an interpreted programming language and C++ to interact with various hardware. Co-requisite: BME 296. Prerequisite: ECE 222 with a grade of C or better. Lab fee: $25 to help defray cost of software licenses and equipment.

Credit Hours: 2

Biomechanics through a rigorous mathematical standpoint while emphasizing the biological aspect. Engineering analysis of the human body. Stress, strain, and deformable body mechanics. Mechanical properties of biological tissues. Prerequisites: PHYS 205A and MATH 251 with a grade of C or better. Project fee to defray cost of software license: $45.

Credit Hours: 3

Sources of electrical signals in biologic systems, such as nerve, brain and muscle. Bioproperties and electrical properties of membranes and ion channels. Action potentials and Hodgkin-Huxley model. Electrical signal propagation between neurons. Synaptic transmission. Nerve electrical stimulation. Electrocardiography (ECG), Electroencephalography (EEG), Electromyography (EMG) and measurement techniques. Prerequisite: MATH 305 with a grade of C or better. Restricted to BME majors.

Credit Hours: 3

Fundamental biomedical techniques. Topics include: Fundamentals on wet-lab technique; fundamentals on cell culture techniques; microscopy, electrocardiography; electromyography; pulmonary function, blood pressure, bioelectrodes, bio-electric circuit design; bio-amplifiers and filters; ion channel current recording. Prerequisite: BME 101 with a grade of C or better. Co-requisite: BME 338L. Restricted to BME majors.

Credit Hours: 2

Fundamental biomedical techniques. Topics include: basic wet-lab techniques; cell culture techniques; microscopy, electrocardiography; electromyography; pulmonary function, blood pressure, bioelectrodes, bio-electric circuit design; bio-amplifiers and filters; ion channel current recording. Prerequisite: BME 101 with a grade of C or better. Co-requisite: BME 338. Restricted to BME majors. Lab fee: $50 to help defray cost of equipment and software licenses.

Credit Hours: 2

An introductory course to the analysis of human movement through the use of mathematical methods from an engineering viewpoint. Human dynamics, linear kinematics and kinetics, angular kinematics and kinetics, and impulse and momentum. Prerequisites: BME 336, MATH 251, PHYS 205A with grades of C or better. Project fee to defray cost of software license: $45.

Credit Hours: 3

Probability: Axioms of probability, discrete and continuous random variables, probability distributions, moments, correlation and covariance, conditional probabilities and densities, functions of random variables/vectors and their distributions, convergence of a sequence of random variables and limit theorems, and probabilistic models for BME applications. Statistical analysis: Parameter estimators, confidence intervals, hypothesis tests, regression and curve fitting, Monte Carlo estimation, and statistical analysis for BME applications. Prerequisite: MATH 305 with grade of C or better.

Credit Hours: 3

Introduction to Matlab programming, operations on biomedical signals, time-domain analysis, impulse response and stability, Fourier series and transform, Laplace transform, applications to biomedical signals, frequency response techniques. Prerequisite: ECE 235 and MATH 305 or concurrent enrollment with grades of C or better. Concurrent enrollment in ECE 355 or ECE 355H required. Restricted to enrollment in BME program. Lab fee: $20 to help defray cost of software licenses and equipment.

Credit Hours: 1

Introduction to signals, linear systems theory, Laplace transform, modeling of dynamic systems and circuits, dynamic response, basic properties of feedback PID control, root-locus design method, and frequency-response design method. Prerequisites: ECE 235, ECE 315, ECE 355, and MATH 250. BME 356L may also be taken concurrently.

Credit Hours: 3

Introduction to robotics, dynamics and control of robotic manipulators, path-planning, introduction to haptics, haptic interfaces and their applications, kinesthetic haptic devices. Prerequisite: BME 356.

Credit Hours: 1

Applying engineering techniques to study brain function. Topics include: cerebral cortex; sensory, motor, and association areas; neurons and glial cells; pathways and synapses; information processing in visual, auditory, and somatosensory cortices; analyses of brain recordings; brain-computer interfacing, multisensory integration models; context effect models; memory encoding and retrieval models. Restricted to Senior or Graduate Standing. Lab fee: $20 to help defray cost of equipment.

Credit Hours: 3

The sources of electrical signals in biological systems. Methods and types of sensors for sensing bioelectrical signals, including amperometric, potentiometric, piezo-electric, impedance, and FET based biosensors. Interface between biosensors and electronics for sensor signal condition and data acquisition. Precision electronics for biosensor signal acquisition, including potentiostat, current, charge, capacitance and impedance sensing circuit, lock-in amplifier. Prerequisite: BME 337 or ECE 345 with a grade of C or better.

Credit Hours: 3

The course is designed to introduce students with fundamentals of MEMS and its applications. The emphasis will be on physical principle in sensors and corresponding fabrication techniques, with supplemental discussion of the state-of-art applications in industry and research. Students will learn to analyze and design systems by solving regular homework problems and active participation during lectures and in-class examples. Topics: Introduction of MEMS (Chapter 1), fundamentals of microfabrication and nanofabrication, fundamentals of physics in sensors, a case study of electrostatic sensing, microfluidics and biomedical applications, projects. Prerequisites: MATH 251; PHYS 205A, PHYS 205B; BME 336, each with a grade of C or better. Lab fee: $50 to defray cost of equipment and materials for the project(s).

Credit Hours: 3

Fundamental theories of light, including the wave theory of light and the particle theory of light; Fundamental interactions between light and matter, including reflection, refraction, absorption, scattering, fluorescence, and polarization; Biology of cells and tissues; Tissue optical properties; Tissue-targeted contrast agents; Coherence and interference; Light transport in turbid media; Diagnostic applications of light, including microscopy, spectroscopy, fluorescence imaging, fluorescence-lifetime imaging, optical coherence tomography, diffuse optical tomography, and/or biosensors; Therapeutic applications of light, including photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, and/or laser ablation. Prerequisites: ECE 235, MATH 251, and PHYS 205B with a grade of C or better.

Credit Hours: 3

(Same as ECE 467) Principles associated with x-ray imaging, computed tomography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and optical imaging. Image quality. Image reconstruction. Prerequisite: MATH 305 and ECE 355 with grade of C- or better, or consent of instructor. Project-based fee: $30 to help defray cost of software licenses and equipment.

Credit Hours: 3

Algorithmic, statistical, and data mining concepts in biomedical engineering and bioinformatics. Programming in R: Vectors, Matrices, Lists, Data Frames, Factors, Tables. Classification techniques. ROC curves. Biomarker gene selection. DNA and protein sequence analysis, sequence alignment. Prerequisite: BME 351 or equivalent with a grade of C or better.

Credit Hours: 3

(Same as ECE 438) This course introduces the students to the field of medical instrumentation. Medical instrumentation is the application of advanced engineering technology to problems in biology and medicine. The course will focus on fundamentals of instrumentation systems, sensors, amplifiers, and signal precondition. In addition, the course also includes design and applications of medical instrumentation, biopotential measurement, biomedical signal processing, and other related topics. Prerequisite: MATH 305 and ECE 355 with a grade of C or better, or consent of instructor. Restricted to enrollment in BME programs. Project-based fee: $45 to help defray cost of software licenses and equipment.

Credit Hours: 3

Diagnostic ultrasound is an ultrasound-based medical imaging technique used to visualize muscles, tissue, and many internal organs, to capture their size, structure and any pathological lesions. This course is an introduction to the principles and applications of biomedical ultrasound. This course will focus on fundamentals of acoustic theory, principles of ultrasonic detection and imaging, design and use of currently available tools for performance evaluation of diagnostic devices, and biological effects of ultrasound. Prerequisite: MATH 305 and ECE 355 with a grade of C or consent of instructor. Restricted to enrollment in BME programs. Project-based fee: $30 to help defray cost of software licenses and equipment.

Credit Hours: 3

Geometrical optics, including refraction and reflection; Physical optics, including interference, diffraction, and polarization; Optical aberrations, including causes and effects; Fourier optics, with applications to imaging; Light sources, including LEDs and lasers; Photodetectors, including photodiodes and image sensors; Lens systems; Microscopes. Prerequisites: ECE 235, MATH 251, and PHYS 205B with a grade of C or better. Lab fee: $125 to help defray the cost of equipment, supplies, and software packages.

Credit Hours: 4

Fundamentals of semiconductor physics, including the use of doping and biasing to control electronic potentials in devices; Fundamentals of integrated circuits, including the design and fabrication of diodes, transistors, and interconnects; Fundamental interactions between light and matter, including reflection, refraction, and absorption; Structure and operating modes of photodiodes; Architectures and operating principles for charge coupled device (CCD) image sensors and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors; Performance metrics for image sensors, including the noise floor, the full-well capacity, the quantum efficiency, and fixed pattern noise; Construction of color image sensors; Signal processing for image sensors, including color interpolation and color correction. Prerequisite: ECE 235, ECE 235L with a grade of C or better. Credit Hours: 3.

Credit Hours: 3

Anatomy and physiology of the cerebral cortex, Feed-forward Networks, Multilayer Perceptrons, Recurrent Networks, Hopfield Networks, Self-organizing Networks, Convolutional Neural Network, Applications to pattern recognition, robotics, image processing, and speech processing. Prerequisite: MATH 305 or ECE 315 or BME 351 with a C or better or consent of instructor.

Credit Hours: 3

(Same as ME 481) This course provides an introduction to a vision system and instrumentation with engineering applications including optical microscopy. A vision system is an essential tool in most of the application, and optical microscopy is a powerful scientific tool to study microscale worlds. Topics covered in basic geometrical optics, Optoelectronic devices, basic electronics for illumination system, optical microscopy, actuators in the microscope, fundamentals of fluorescence microscopy, and advanced imaging techniques. Prerequisites: ENGR 296 or ME 222 or consent of instructor.

Credit Hours: 3

(Same as ME 485) Mechanics of living cells at the micron/nanoscale level. Molecular forces, bond dynamics, force-induced protein conformational changes. Structural basis of living cells, contractile forces, mechanics of biomembranes, nucleus, cytoskeletal filaments- actin, microtubule, intermediate filaments. Active and passive rheology, microrheological properties of cytoskeleton. Active cellular processes such as cell adhesion, cell spreading, control of cell shape, and cell migration. Discussion on experimental techniques including single-molecule approaches to understanding key cellular processes. Discussion of theoretical models that predict cellular processes and limitations. Introduction to mechanobiology. Restricted to senior or graduate standing.

Credit Hours: 3

Capstone Design part 1. Preparation for professional biomedical engineering practice with a major design experience based on earlier coursework, incorporating appropriate engineering standards and multiple constraints. Includes aspects of project development and design within a team such as communicating, establishing goals, planning tasks, meeting deadlines, analyzing risk, and fulfilling responsibilities professionally and ethically. Not for graduate credit. Prerequisites: BME 101, BME 296, BME 336, BME 337, BME 338 with grades of C or better. Restricted to senior standing in Biomedical Engineering. Lab fee: $50 to defray cost of lab equipment/software licenses, materials and equipment needed for performing the senior design project.

Credit Hours: 3

Capstone Design part 2. Continuation of a major design experience based on earlier coursework, incorporating appropriate engineering standards and multiple constraints. Team approach in engineering projects. Work plan/time scheduling. Design options & cost-benefit analysis. Development of the final decision. Team coordination & documentation of team member efforts, design stages, team communication and team decision making processes. Implementation of the design (if the project warrants). Evaluation of the final product. Written, oral, and poster presentation of final design. Not for graduate credit. Prerequisite: BME 495A or ECE 495C or ECE 495E with a C or better. Lab fee: $50 to defray cost of lab equipment/software licenses, materials and equipment needed for performing the senior design project.

Credit Hours: 3