BME - Biomedical Engineering

An introduction to the fundamental levels of organization of the human body highlighted in engineering terms. The first half of the course will consider the chemical, cellular, and tissue levels of organization. The second half of the course will be devoted to bone, joints, muscle, and neural tissue. Guest lectures will include engineers and medical scientists to discuss the relationship between recent advances in biomedical engineering and the underlying anatomy and physiology. This course is intended for students in the Faculty of Engineering. Students from other faculties must obtain the consent of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Credit may be obtained for only BME 210 or 320.

An introduction to the organization of the human body at the level of the anatomical systems highlighted in engineering terms. Lectures will be devoted to the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, urinary, nervous and endocrine systems, and fluid, electrolyte and acid-base homeostasis. Guest lectures will include engineers and medical scientists to discuss the relationship between recent advances in biomedical engineering and the underlying anatomy and physiology. This course is intended for students in the Faculty of Engineering. Students from other faculties must obtain the consent of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Credit may be obtained for only BME 211 or 321. Prerequisite: BME 320 or consent of Instructor.

An introduction to design and development of bioinformatics algorithms and their applications in bioinformatics. Topics may include algorithms for sequence comparison/alignment, large-scale biological database search, evolutionary tree reconstruction, and identification of important features in nucleic acid and protein sequences and underlying computational techniques.

Neuroimaging has developed rapidly in recent years, and has had a profound effect on how we understand the human brain. This advanced course is aimed to provide graduate students and senior undergraduate students a comprehensive overview of the neuroimaging techniques (structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), MRI spectroscopy (MRS) etc) currently used in neuroscience research. In addition, we will discuss how neuroimaging methods can advance our understanding of healthy brain function and neuropsychiatric disorders. Prerequisite: Consent of Instructor.

This course will give an overview of the stem cell biology and biomedical applications. Topics will include biological aspects of stem cells, environmental factors and signals that are implicated in regulating stem cell fate, the practical use of stem cells for tissue engineering and cellular therapies. The course will highlight techniques for engineering of stem cells and their micro-environments. The ethical, legal, and regulatory issues that accompany current and emerging stem cell engineering applications will be also discussed. This course is designed for upper undergraduates and graduate students with a strong interest in stem cell biology and stem cell engineering, and the desire to actively contribute to discussions in the class. Pre-requisites: BME 320 or consent of instructor.

Introduction to basic physical and technological aspects of medical imaging. Emphasis on computed transmission and emission tomography, magnetic resonance, and ultrasound imaging. These methods are developed and contrasted in terms of how imaging information is generated, detected, and processed and how different hardware configurations and other factors limit image quality. Relative diagnostic potential of the imaging methods is also discussed in relation to future prospects of each method.

An advanced course for graduate students in Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering that covers the cellular and systems level changes in sensorimotor and pain pathways in response to motor training and/or trauma to the nervous system. A background on experimental techniques and mechanisms of neuronal plasticity from key studies in cortical, spinal and dorsal horn systems will be provided. Students are expected to write and present on current topics in the field of motor and pain neuroplasticity. Students should have a basic background in neurophysiology. Prerequisites: PMCOL 371 and PHYSL 372 or equivalents or consent of instructor.

Individual sections covering such topics as signal processing and rehabilitation engineering. Prerequisite: consent of Instructor.

Introduction to rehabilitation techniques for assisting individuals with physical disabilities to reach, stand and walk. Biomechanics of intact and pathological movements and the use of assistive devices such as exoskeletal orthotics, neuroprosthetic devices and locomotor training are emphasized. Students are exposed to the concepts of biomechanical modeling, motion analysis, electrical stimulation, control systems, neuroregeneration, and pharmacology. Prerequisite: BME 320 and 321 or consent of Instructor.

Designed for graduate and advanced undergraduate students requiring a thorough grounding in the fundamentals of imaging by means of nuclear magnetic resonance, NMR. Topics include the principles of NMR as applied to imaging, image processing, imaging techniques for achieving specific types of contrast, image artefacts, and typical applications. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

Series of seminars exposing graduate students to the various areas of research and providing a forum for progress reports in individual areas. Seminars by research workers from inside and outside the University are included. Seminars are informal with ample opportunity for discussion.

Series of seminars exposing graduate students to the various areas of research and providing a forum for progress reports in individual areas. Seminars by research workers from inside and outside the University are included. Seminars are informal with ample opportunity for discussion.

Application and design of instrumentation systems applied to living tissue or biological systems. Transduction principles, sensors, detectors, electronic signal conditioning and processing techniques, electrical safety for medical instrumentation, error analysis. Various sensors will be examined such as displacement, resistive, inductive, capacitive, piezoelectric, temperature, and optical. Actuators incorporated into medical devices will be examined.

An introduction to design and development of bioinformatics algorithms and their applications in bioinformatics. Topics may include algorithms for sequence comparison/alignment, large-scale biological database search, evolutionary tree reconstruction, and identification of important features in nucleic acid and protein sequences and underlying computational techniques. Credit cannot be obtained for both BME 415 and BME 615.

Description: An introduction to topics and tools in structure-based and ligand-based in silico drug design such as molecular dynamics, virtual screening, receptor-drug interactions, and pharmacophore modeling. Holistic view of drug discovery including topics such as pharmacokinetics and systems biology, Artificial Intelligence's role in drug discovery and an introduction to precision medicine.

Fundamental levels of organization of the human body. Anatomical systems including circulatory, respiratory, digestive, urinary, nervous, endocrine, and musculoskeletal systems will be examined. Structure and functional relationships in anatomy and physiology. The course will concentrate on the systems level of anatomy, introducing cellular-and tissue- level concepts when required to complete understanding of how the organ system works. Emphasis will be on how engineering concepts can be applied to the machinery of the human body.

Prerequisite: consent of Department.

Design methodology; recognizing and defining open-ended biomedical engineering problems, problem definition, concept generation, project planning, modelling, analysis, decision making, design synthesis, prototyping and testing. Topics may include identifying market needs, idea generation, biologically inspired design, human factors related to design, regulatory issues, intellectual property protection, clinical trials, and commercialization considerations.

Introduction to the fundamental principles of experimental design, hypothesis formulation, data collection, statistical analysis, literature search and review, developing a research plan, and scientific communications and reporting applied to bioengineering research. Introduction to the ethical issues encountered in biomedical research with human and animal subjects including informed consent, confidentiality, privacy, and research ethics boards.

Applications of machine learning tools to real-world problems in biomedical engineering including diagnostic and prognostic applications. An introduction to machine learning. Machine learning tools: regression and classification; manifold learning and dimensional reduction; decision trees and ensemble learning; unsupervised learning and clustering; feature selection and feature extraction; neural networks and deep learning. Biomedical applications: cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurological diseases and infectious diseases.

Structure and functional behaviour of tissues in the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems. Mechanical characterization of tissues using elastic and viscoelastic models. Topics of continuum mechanics, statics, and dynamics as applied to physiological systems and biological tissues.

Directed capstone project in an area of interest, supervised by a project advisor or faculty member. Development of a project proposal. Projects may involve experimental, analytical, or computational techniques. A final written report and oral presentation are required.

Directed capstone project in an area of interest, supervised by a project advisor or faculty member. Development of a project proposal. Projects may involve experimental, analytical, or computational techniques. A final written report and oral presentation are required.

Directed capstone project in an area of interest, supervised by a project advisor or faculty member. Development of a project proposal. Projects may involve experimental, analytical, or computational techniques. A final written report and oral presentation are required.