What Does a Clinical Engineer Do?

The development of modern medicine is more and more closely related to the development of natural sciences such as physics, biochemistry, medical engineering, and informatics, and is increasingly interdependent. According to the experience and development models of developed countries such as Europe, the United States, and Japan, biomedical engineering technicians must not only understand medical equipment but also master relevant medical expertise to form a new generation of biomedical engineering majors-clinical engineers. Professionals who are applying engineering and management skills to the field of medical technology to support and facilitate patient care.

Clinical engineer

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The development of modern medicine and physics,

A clinical engineer, he or she is a professional who applies engineering and medical technology management technology to support and promote patient medical care. A clinical engineer should have at least a bachelor's degree approved by the Engineering and Technology Evaluation Committee, or a professional practitioner who has passed the engineer's knowledge and skills exam.

The clinical engineer department is a relatively new field of expertise. Only in the 1970s did universities and colleges develop formal courses to award a bachelor, master or doctoral degree in clinical engineering or biomedical engineering. The courses include: physics, life sciences, mathematics, Human science, management science and engineering science, many traditional engineering are the basis of clinical engineering, such as: electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and computer engineering, etc .; life science courses usually include: biochemistry, biology, physiology and anatomy The multi-disciplinary field of engineering and life sciences is a unique feature that distinguishes clinical engineering from other engineering sciences.

University courses in clinical engineering must meet the professional requirements for entry to the medical preparatory course, and then obtain a higher degree in engineering, business management, medical management, or technology management; educational institutions or professional groups or employers play a role in providing continuing education and training for clinical engineers Roles. Although engineering degrees are the main professional training, there are some people whose professional training and accumulated knowledge and experience have created the same foundation as formal engineers, especially when early clinical engineering has not officially awarded a professional degree, they already have clinical engineers life science and For those knowledgeable in engineering physics, the American International Licensing Commission has accreditation methods for granting clinical engineers.

Clinical engineers apply engineering technology and management technology with medical industry suppliers to solve technical and medical system problems. They design, modify, and analyze medical equipment and medical system operations. In addition to aggravating professional life sciences, clinical practice in the medical system is where clinical engineers are different from other engineers. Clinical engineering is a specialty area of biomedical engineering. University, hospital or medical equipment industry employs biomedical engineers to perform Research plans are behavioral representations that they contribute to basic or applied research or teaching.

Instrument operation management

Clinical engineer development, architecture, and implementation of medical device management solutions, such as: assessing and screening hospital technology, formulating specifications and system requirements, medical device acceptance and installation testing, providing user education and training and technical support, medical device interface processing, Repair management and maintenance schedules, etc., and investigate medical issues related to medical equipment, plan and manage hazard notification and return systems, and focus more on improving the safety and economic benefits of medical system application engineering technology. Clinical engineers can lead medical physicists, hospital safety and health engineers, nurses, other clinical engineers, or medical instrument technicians to perform management of all hospitals scattered in the intensive care unit, laboratory diagnostic department, respiratory therapy department, ultrasound room, radiation Department, anesthesiology department, neurology department, physical therapy department, radiotherapy nuclear medicine or operating room medical instruments, some hospitals have extended the professional operation field of clinical engineers to the hospital communication exchange system and computer information system. Therefore, the specialty of clinical engineers He is a practitioner of high-tech engineering in hospitals.

Architecture and update of equipment technology

Clinical engineers coordinate medical equipment needs, develop and manage replacement of old equipment, or design and structure medical equipment, and participate in the audit of the medical equipment's accounting budget; in the assembly of medical equipment, peripheral planning, support system architecture or facility system planning, with the building Divisions, engineers, managers, and medical staff to come up with reasonable and appropriate solutions.

Provide consulting assignments

Clinical engineers with clinical and engineering experience can provide hospital medical engineering technology management consulting operations, develop clinical engineering technology support and consulting services for integrated engineering operations, and enable the quality of medical services for hospital patients to take into account technology operations and safety Multiple integration goals of operations, and economic benefits.

Production of medical equipment

As clinical engineers have expertise in life sciences and engineering sciences, they can provide consultations with medical units on medical device system design, installation testing, and education and training. Medical device manufacturers hire them to assist in the production process related to medical devices. Human factors engineering [or ergonomics and application considerations for safe operation], product design and update, medical device manufacturing development and testing, clinical effectiveness and safety and quality research, standards and regulations for professional operations, medical equipment related Crisis accident investigation, and on-site engineering and technical services required for difficult and high-risk medical equipment.

Radiation safety operations in hospitals

Clinical engineers with radiation physics knowledge are adequate to support the implementation of radiation safety operations in medical units. This role provides: basic radiation physics concept training, planning of quality assurance operations for radiology images in hospitals, radiation safety education and safety information management Operations, evaluation of radiation medical equipment in compliance with radiation safety standards, monitoring of safe dose files for professional radiation radiation operators, and related hospitals' compliance with international or local standards for radiation safety compliance and regulatory control of operating certificates and safety and quality assurance.

In addition to teaching professional courses related to professional academics in the departments of engineering, medicine, nursing, health, dentistry, and veterinary medicine, clinical engineers also provide medical professionals with on-the-job education and continuing education related to medical operations; in medical institutions The clinical engineer of the company plans to develop regular statutory education courses that are necessary for the hospital to operate special professional medical equipment, such as: hospital-wide electrical safety education, radiation safety education, and laser medical safety operations.

Clinical engineers perform clinical medical research independently or with clinicians or with other medical professionals. The research areas include: electrophysiology, metabolic kinetics, imaging technology [image signal acquisition and processing, image storage and image reconstruction] , Medical device evaluation, computer medical information simulation and model establishment, physiological potential extraction and signal processing, tissue energy response, and artificial organs.

Based on the understanding of the clinical operating environment and the application principles and operation of medical devices, clinical engineers often design or modify medical devices. On the other hand, when they learn about designing or modifying medical devices, they experience the limitations of clinical practice. The importance of the industry. Whenever research and development and clinical trials are shifted to commercialization, clinical engineers serve as the intermediary role for the transfer of engineering technology. Their professional cooperation with clinical medical staff is playing a role in connecting the development of medical equipment to practical applications. Link.

Whenever a new medical engineering technology is introduced into a hospital or an experimental medical engineering technology is still being tested, clinical engineers participate in performing integrity assessments or providing technical support to medical care on operating costs, the pros and cons of overall medical operations, and their potential negative effects. The clinical engineering technology evaluation committee, the clinical engineer analyzes the medical engineering technology operating cost, financial status, and the manufacturer's operating status in the hospital, and puts forward the integrated analysis and pros and cons of the assessed medical engineering technology for decision makers' reference. ^[1]