Technology in contemporary medicine has evolved to where computers and other high-tech devices are essential in hospitals, rehabilitation centres and private medical practices. The Master in Biomedical Engineering was created to respond to the increased technological needs in healthcare and to provide more and better care with less people and to obtain cost-effectiveness in our healthcare systems.

About the programme:

In this master's programme you will learn to design and produce biomedical-technological products and/or biomedical information-processing services. To this end, an additional basis is laid for medical subjects about the functioning of our organism. The knowledge of the basic technological subjects is then combined with these basic medical subjects in specialty subjects that cover the whole range of new developments in medical technology: biomechanics, medical image processing, biomaterials, processing of medical signals, tissue engineering, robotic surgery, bioinformatics, business management in medical technology, ... The biomedical engineer thus becomes an integrator par excellence, who applies his engineering activities in the biomedical industry, hospitals, health care and government.

The common core of this programme builds further on basic medical knowledge (covering human cell biology, anatomy and physiology) and fundamentals in engineering science taught in the bachelor in biomedical engineering and covering fundamentals in medical technology such as tissue biomechanics and modelling in tissue physiology.

This core provides a comprehensive view of advanced contemporary fields in biomedical engineering, covering biomedical imaging, data processing, bioinstrumentation, multiphysics, biofluid mechanics, bioinformatics as well as medical equipment and regulatory affairs. In addition, the core programme offers contemporary practices and research based learning including a research training in medical technology and a master's thesis.

Programme strenghts:

• The programme responds to the increased technological needs in healthcare. These needs result, among others, from the ageing population, the challenge to provide more and better care with less people and the challenge to obtain cost-effectiveness in our healthcare system.

• It aims to deliver interdisciplinary-trained biomedical engineers who can act as integrator between medical and technological specialists by understanding the medical needs and by translating them into engineering requirements. Conversely, these biomedical engineers are able to design and produce medical devices and procedures that can effectively solve problems through their integration in clinical practice.

• The curriculum builds on cutting-edge research conducted by an internationally renowned teaching staff spread across several departments and leading strong research groups in the field of biomedical engineering. Their strong ties with the nearby university hospital UZ Leuven and the biomedical engineering sector are a major asset to the master’s programme.

• At the Faculty of Engineering Science, students are given the opportunity to complete one or two semesters of their degree within the Erasmus+ programme at a European university, or a university outside Europe. Students are also encouraged to carry out industrial and research internships abroad under the supervision of the Internship Coordinator. This gives this programme a truly international dimension.

Student profile:

The ideal candidate has a broad technological background, ideally combining basic elements from mechanical and electrical engineering. The student has an interest in medicine and in the contributions of technology to medical treatments and to healthcare in general.

Summary:

• Broad technological background in engineering science 

• Basic knowledge in mechanical, electrical engineering, material sciences, statistics and informatics

• Basic background knowledge in in cell biology, human anatomy and system physiology

• Interdisciplinary oriented with strong interest in medicine and impact of technology on medical treatments

Career perspectives:

Industry, government, hospitals and social insurance companies are in need of engineers with a specific training in the multidisciplinary domain of biomedical engineering. These engineers can expertly integrate technological knowledge (e.g. in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and material sciences) with medical knowledge. The broad technological education of the programme also equips biomedical engineers with professional attributes that are attractive to various classical industrial sectors.