COVID-19 and the Increasing Demand for Bioengineering
Bioengineering, also referred to as biomedical engineering, is a term that was not frequently used in clinical medicine until recently. Even when used, it was only considered to be of importance to a select few professionals who worked in medical laboratories. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought biomedical engineering to the forefront. It is a field that has been instrumental in saving many lives during these challenging times.
Since the Ebola virus breakout nearly 15 years ago, most North American healthcare institutions felt that they had everything under control. They believed that since they effectively managed the Ebola virus with their state-of-the-art healthcare facilities and equipment, they could not be held hostage to any other infection. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic showed the fragility of most healthcare systems around the world. Not only were hospitals unprepared in terms of knowledge and training as to how to deal with a pandemic of this nature, but they also lacked essential equipment to save lives. Even the most basic personal protection equipment for healthcare workers was in short supply.
Bioengineering is a term used to describe the combination of engineering and biological sciences when applied to medicine. It is a specialty on its own, and its contributions to healthcare are of vital importance. Besides developing state-of-the-art medical tools for diagnosis and personal protective equipment to prevent infection, bioengineering has been pivotal for developing the COVID-19 vaccine and ventilators.
Bioengineering is not a new field; the concept of applying engineering principles to medicine first started in the 1970s by Alfred Mann, and within a decade, it showed an exponential increase, mainly because medical practice at that time was not very advanced. Over the years, bioengineering has been critical for improving the healthcare we have today. Many medical devices, drugs, and vaccines are available because of the effort of bioengineers.
A career in bioengineering has significant potential. Biomedical engineers are not only employed by healthcare institutions but also pharmaceutical companies and medical manufacturing companies. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment growth of 4.7% for biomedical engineers between 2019 and 2029. That is why many people now wish to pursue a career in the biomedical field.
Since the day the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, countries have struggled to contain its transmission. The infection is acquired through airborne particles and the two most effective ways to prevent it are social distancing and masks. However, throughout the world, healthcare systems have seen a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). Also, COVID-19 causes severe respiratory symptoms in patients who are severely infected, and these patients are at risk of developing severe respiratory distress. The most effective treatment for such patients is mechanical ventilation. But as the number of cases increased, countries like the U.S. have been at risk of a shortage of ventilators.
Globally, nearly 100 million people, including 570,000 healthcare workers have been infected by the virus. 2 million people have died. Leading experts say that the only way to prevent high morbidity and mortality is through a vaccine. Now that Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been approved and vaccinations have already started worldwide, the future looks promising.
Bioengineers have played an important role throughout the pandemic. Many bioengineering groups are actively involved in developing advanced tools that can be used for biological research. There are also several bioengineering models related to virology and vaccinology. Bioengineers have proven that they are important players in healthcare, and they have adapted their skills and strategies to help fight COVID-19. Many bioengineers from different industry backgrounds have teamed together to build ventilators and PPE so that healthcare workers are able to take care of COVID-19 patients. They are using reverse engineering techniques to help deconstruct items, identify optimum methods to handle shortages and other challenges. They are working to speed up production and testing, and they are trying very hard to work side-by-side with other healthcare professionals to manage this crisis.
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how fragile our healthcare systems are and how easily things can crumble when faced with a pandemic. What have we learned? What could we do better? Healthcare experts and professionals, including bioengineers, will continue in their struggle to improve our systems and to develop advanced healthcare solutions that can help us combat not just COVID-19 but also cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity and other major healthcare challenges.
