Biomedical Electronics Engineering at Universiti Malaysia Perlis

Biomedical Electronics Engineering at Universiti Malaysia Perlis N.F. Mohd Nasir, A.F. Mohd Salleh, N. Mustafa, A. Saidatul, A.H. Jahidin, M.S.A. Megat Ali and M. Rizon School of Mechatronics, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Kangar, Malaysia Abstract — Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) is one of the public higher learning institutions in Malaysia to offer Biomedical Engineering at the undergraduate level. Biomedical engineering is a new branch of engineering which apply the engineering principle and techniques to the health sector. The needs for such specialization are due to the advancement of medical technology, risk of shoddy medical products which flooded the country’s market and also current public awareness on health issues. Thus, Universiti Malaysia Perlis has taken the challenge to develop her own course of Biomedical Engineering to cater the needs of producing capable biomedical engineer in this field to serve the job market locally and abroad. This article will give an update to the recent development of the curricular structure and physical facilities through out these sessions of running the program. Keywords — Biomedical engineering, biomedical engineering education, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Malaysia I. INTRODUCTION Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) was established as Kolej Universiti Kejuruteraan Utara Malaysia (KUKUM) after the approval of Ministry of Higher Education in May 2001. The university along with Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) are Malaysia’s technical universities which are intended to apply labintensive and practical-oriented education to ensure the graduates can directly perform their task without further training in the industry. These technical universities aim to produce capable engineers with competency in carrying out practical tasks with sufficient theoretical knowledge as required by Malaysia’s industry [1]. UniMAP had identified electronic based engineering as her niche area. However, areas which related or supporting the advancement of electronic engineering are also introduced. Since the first intake in June 2002, Universiti Malaysia Perlis had offered 15 Bachelor of Engineering programs and 12 postgraduate programs leading to MSc (Engineering) and PhD. One of these programs is Biomedical Electronics Engineering [2]. Such a course has become a growing demand since the Ministry of Health has started to privatize hospital support service at all the government hospitals in 1997. The contract involves RM 0.5 billion yearly and this has attracted many biomedical engineers from abroad since the country is still lacking the local manpower in this field. Therefore, it is a must for Malaysian universities to take up this challenge in producing the country’s own graduates for this purpose [3]. As a result, Universiti Malaysia Perlis has developed her own Biomedical Engineering Electronic undergraduate program in order to fulfill the national agenda. II. BACKGROUND The setting up of the Biomedical Engineering based program started with the 18th Academic Management Committee meeting that endorsed the appointment of 21 members of Biomedical Electronic Engineering Board of Studies which dated at 16th February 2005. Nine members were appointed outside from UniMAP which comprises academicians, medical doctors and also representatives from the industry. They are: x Prof. Dr. Ir. Wan Abu Wan Abas (Universiti Malaya) x Prof. Dr. Mohd Nasir Taib (Universiti Teknologi Mara) x Assoc. Prof. Dr. Wan Ahmad Kamil Abdullah (Universiti Sains Malaysia ) x Mr. Zulkifli Mahmoodin (Universiti Kuala Lumpur) x Dr. Ahmad Zalizan Zainul (Hospital Tuanku Fauziah) x Dr. Azmi Hashim (Department of Health Perlis) x Ir. Gnana Sakaran (ECRI) x Mr. Azman Hamid (Healthtronics) x Mr. Nasir Talib (Radibems) [4] Simultaneously, a market survey was conducted to gather industrial respond towards the curriculum of the program, the graduate job market and the industrial support to the program that would be offered. 100% of the respondents have shown their support to this program due to the necessity in producing trained workforce in biomedical engineering. The meeting of Board of Studies was then held on 26th of July 2005 which supported the establishment of Biomedical Electronic Engineering Program in UniMAP [4]. With the positive feedback from the Board of Studies, the 14th Senate meeting on the 11th of August 2005 had unanimously agreed to submit the proposal of implementing the N.A. Abu Osman, F. Ibrahim, W.A.B. Wan Abas, H.S. Abd Rahman, H.N. Ting (Eds.): Biomed 2008, Proceedings 21, pp. 44–47, 2008 www.springerlink.com © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2008 Biomedical Electronics Engineering at Universiti Malaysia Perlis bachelor degree. Finally, the Higher Education Ministry of Malaysia had endorsed the program on 9th February 2006. The program is the third offered under the School of Mechatronic Engineering besides Mechatronic engineering program and the Mechanical engineering program. Furthermore, UniMAP is the third public university to offer this program after Universiti Malaya and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. On 2nd July 2006, UniMAP has received her first batch of undergraduate students that totaled about 46 of them. Currently, the total numbers of students are 130 and the staff member of the program had increased from only two personnel to 7 lecturers, 3 teaching engineers and 2 technicians. Hospital Tuanku Fauziah Kangar has played important role in providing lecturers to teach medical related subject such as Human System and in the future, to assist the program in conducting courses such as Clinical Engineering and Biomedical Imaging. III. ACADEMIC Definition: Biomedical engineering can be defined as a discipline that advances knowledge in engineering, biology and medicine and improves human health through crossdisciplinary activities that integrate the engineering sciences with the biomedical sciences and clinical practices [5]. This definition has become the foundation in developing biomedical electronic engineering program in UniMAP. Program Educational Outcome and Program Outcome: Each of Universiti Malaysia Perlis’ engineering programs is tailored according to the university’s Program Educational Outcomes (PEO) which describes the expected achievements of graduates after graduation in their career and professional life. They are: 1. Providing competent engineers in theoretical as well as practical aspects so that they can do their engineering job related to research and development (R&D), design, manufacture, maintenance, sales and management. 2. Providing support to meet the increasing demand for professional workers mentioned in the National Industrial Development Plan. 3. Contributing through research, consultancy and teaching to the development of the latest tools and systems especially for use and interest of the public. 4. Producing students with high self esteem and patriotism [6]. Program Outcomes (PO) are related to the expectation of what students are able to achieve when they had completed their study in terms of knowledge, skills and behavior. Gen- _______________________________________________________________ 45 erally, all engineering degree programs at UniMAP have 11 POs. The students are emphasized to have basic knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering, ability to communicate and ICT literate. Other qualities that have been emphasized by the UniMAPs’ POs include high value of ethics, engineering professionalism, entrepreneurship knowledge, ability to solve problem and high technical competency [6]. However, specific POs are drawn to ensure the Biomedical electronic engineers graduating from Universiti Malaysia Perlis are able to meet the industrial requirement. The POs are: 1. Ability to work professionally in the biomedical engineering sector, health care sector and other medical engineering related industry in designing systems, components, products or processes to meet desired needs of these industries 2. Familiarity in experimental design, data collection and data analysis for biomedical engineering 3. Knowledge of contemporary analytical, computational, experimental and design practices in biomedical engineering Curricular structure: The curricular structure is tailored in order to comply with the PEOs and POs. It is compulsory for UniMAP students to complete 135 credit hours before graduation. There are 2 categories of courses available in UniMAP which are the core courses (including the elective courses) and the university-required courses. A core course is a pure engineering or engineering related course which each carrying either 3 or 4 units. The total number of them is 120 units. Usually 16 units are reserved for elective courses where the students have the opportunity to choose particular subjects of interest to enhance their engineering knowledge especially advance topics in biomedical engineering [1]. Other than this categorization, basically the courses can be divided into general engineering subjects and biomedical engineering based subjects. The general engineering subjects are offered by the university and also the School of Mechatronics Engineering. For instance, courses like Engineering Skills and Engineering Mathematics are taught by lecturers assigned by the University. Meanwhile, courses like the Electric Circuits, Analog Electronics and Digital Electronics are offered by the school. Biomedical engineering courses are directly organized and implemented by the management of the program. These courses can be classified into biomedical electronic and bioinstrumentation courses and mechanical-oriented subjects. A strong fundamental element and also high biomedical engineering inclination is introduced to the courses IFMBE Proceedings Vol. 21 _________________________________________________________________ 46 N.F. Mohd Nasir, A.F. Mohd Salleh, N. Mustafa, A. Saidatul, A.H. Jahidin, M.S.A. Megat Ali and M. Rizon Table 1 UniMAP Biomedical Electronic Engineering Curricular Structure Year Subjects 1 First Semester: Engineering Mathematics 1, Computer Programming, Engineering Skills 1, Electric Circuits, Human System. Second Semester: Engineering Mathematics 2, Analog Electronics, Engineering Materials, Engineering Mechanics, Communication Skills. 2 First Semester: Engineering Mathematics 3, Engineering Skills 2, Thermofluid, Biomedical Signal and System, Digital Electronics. Second Semester: Microprocessor System, Biomedical Electronics and Bioinstrumentation, Biomechanics, Biomedical Electromagnetics Theory. 3 First Semester: Biomaterials, Biomedical Acts, Standards and Safety, Biomedical Control System, Artificial Organ. Second Semester: Industrial Training. 4 First Semester: Elective 1, Elective 2, Biomedical Imaging, Clinical Engineering, Final Year Project. Second Semester: Elective 3, Engineers In Society, Final Year Project. controlled by the program such as Engineering Mechanics, Engineering Materials, Thermofluids and Biomedical Signal and Systems. These elements are important due to the requirement of the industry which need the graduates from this field to be knowledgeable and skillful not only in biomedical electronics but also mechanical based subjects where the problems arise in biomedical engineering and clinical engineering usually comprise both kind of nature. Medical-oriented courses such as the Human System are a combination of Anatomy and Physiology and the importance of this course is to ensure the biomedical electronic graduates are able to understand the human body structure and its function. The vitality of introducing the students to the subject in the first year will create the sense of belonging to the area and a strong environment for them for learning future biomedical engineering courses for years to come. Apart from that, it is a necessity for every program to offer university required courses. The courses content offered is outside the engineering domain. They comprise 15 units out of the 135 units. The aim of these courses is to build up the character of the students. Examples of these courses are entrepreneurship, thinking skills and foreign languages [1]. Industrial Exposure and Industrial Training: Contacts with industries had been given highest priority by Universiti Malaysia Perlis. Every course is allowed to invite a visiting lecturer from the industry to deliver lecture to the students and also lecturers. Since the introduction of the program, visiting lecturers from Hospital Tuanku Fauziah, Faber _______________________________________________________________ Medi-Serve Sdn. Bhd. and Healthtronics Sdn. Bhd. have taken the opportunity to meet the students and lecturers to put in the picture of the current situation in the industry. Besides inviting these people to the campus, students are also sent to the industry for a short time of period in their first year of study. This program is called Industrial Exposure (IndEx). The itinerary for IndEx includes visits to the industrial shop floor, talks by members of the industry, mini projects and individual assignments related to industrial related topics [1]. Nevertheless, attachment to the industry is made compulsory for every UniMAP students. This kind of attachment is called InTra (Industrial Training). The students are attached to the industry for 6 months in the second semester of the third year of study. Evaluations are given based on the assessment from the company, student’s presentation during their attachment, observation by the supervisor during visits, logbook, student’s final presentation and final report [1]. IV. LABORATORIES Laboratories developed are specific to the courses offered by the program. Practical sessions for common courses such as Electric Circuits and Analog Electronics are held in laboratories developed in the early days of Universiti Malaysia Perlis. However, courses that are unique such as Human System, Biomedical Electronics and Bioinstrumentation, and Biomechanics should have their own specialized laboratories. The first laboratory built is the Human System laboratory. It consists of digital microscopes fully equipped with the latest imaging software. Besides that, the lab also has educational training kits (the Power Lab Systems® manufactured by ADInstruments) to expose the students on the human physiological measurands and its measurement. These training kits are capable to measure blood pressure, heart rate, electrocardiogram, electromyogram, muscle properties, reflexes and reaction times and breathing movements. The laboratory has other equipments such as a workstation, personal computers, blood pressure training set, stethoscopes, sphygmomanometers, and anatomical models. Models include skeleton, dual sex torso, vertebral column, skull, brain, heart, lung, pancreas and kidney. This set up is important to ensure the students will not only have firm understanding in physiology but also human anatomy. The Biomedical Electronics and Bioinstrumentation laboratory is well equipped with ECG machine, defibrillator, defibrillator analyzer, patient monitoring system, volumetric infusion pump, nebulizer, suction pump and hemoglobin meter. In order to educate students on biomedical IFMBE Proceedings Vol. 21 _________________________________________________________________ Biomedical Electronics Engineering at Universiti Malaysia Perlis instrumentation design and also serve as project platform and interface in research, Labview ELVIS (produced by National Instruments) are also available for use. Other basic equipments include personal computers, oscilloscopes, function generators, power supplies and multimeters. The latest laboratory developed for this program in the session 2007/2008 is the Biomechanics laboratory. It has Motion Capture High Speed Camera units manufactured by Qualysis. The laboratory also has a portable force plate, 64 channels ADC and 3D Analysis and Track Manager Software. For the session 2008/2009, the program has planned to set up Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Lab, Artificial Organ Lab and also Biomedical Imaging Lab. Apart from that, other laboratories which are under serious consideration include the Bioelectromagnetism Lab, Advance Biomedical Electronics and Bioinstrumentation Lab, Medical Robotics Lab and Sports Engineering Lab. All the laboratories are developed in a way that can be used for both research and teaching. 47 of Biomedical Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Austria as the External Examiner to assist the program in achieving its goals. VI. CONCLUSION The growth of biomedical engineering industry especially in hospital support services has created demands for more biomedical engineers in Malaysia. Hence, the School of Mechatronic Engineering through the Biomedical Electronics Engineering program is trying the best in accordance with the current situation and a much more promising future to come. The initiatives taken by the management is not limited to the philosophy and development of the curricular structure but also to the physical facilities, staff recruitments and good relationship with the industry and other government sectors. This will ensure the graduates can be accepted by the labor market and the university agenda of life-long learning in biomedical engineering education can be realized among our graduates. V. CHALLENGING ISSUES REFERENCES Few issues had been identified to guarantee the competitiveness of the program in the years ahead: x The attractiveness of the undergraduate program offered in order to recruit the best students from all over the country x The training and knowledge given to the students is sufficient as required by the industry x Graduates produced by the program are the most sought after to be recruited by potential employers in the healthcare industry x Continuous staff development and staff recruitment in order to have the best brain in educating students and leading Biomedical Engineering researches x Continuous development of physical infrastructure to support the practical requirement of Biomedical Engineering education x Gaining trust and continuous support from the industry in terms of facilities, feedback and also advices on current situation in Biomedical Engineering Current development has shown that the program is trying its best to comply with the issues. One of the strategies is to obtain consultation and advice from much experienced academician. As a result, the University had appointed Prof. Emeritus Dr. Helmut Hutten from Institute _______________________________________________________________ 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Mohd Zain Z, Shakaff AYM (2005) Engineering Education SystemKUKUM’s Approach. Penerbit KUKUM, Kangar Universiti Malaysia Perlis at http:// en. wikipedia.org /wiki/ Universiti_Malaysia_Perlis Hamid A (2007) Clinical Engineering in Malaysia-A Case Study, IFMBE Proc. Vol. 16, 11th Mediterranean Conference on Medical and Biomedical Engineering and Computing 2007, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2007,pp 1089-1091 KUKUM Senate (2005)14th Senate Meeting Agenda, Kangar, Perlis Definition of Biomedical Engineering at http://www. whitaker.org/glance /definition.html Mohd Zain Z, Shakaff AYM, Zaman Mohabbatul (2007) OBE Implementation in UniMAP, Penerbit UniMAP, Kangar Author: Institute: Street: City: Country: Email: IFMBE Proceedings Vol. 21 Nashrul Fazli Mohd Nasir Biomedical Electronics Engineering Program, School of Mechatronic Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) PPK Mekatronik, Blok A, Kompleks Pusat Pengajian, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Jalan Kangar-Arau, 02600 Jejawi, Perlis Malaysia [email protected] _________________________________________________________________