*BIOENGINEERING CHANGED TO HEALTHCARE

PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR BIOENGINEERING HEALTHCARE ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY AND SIMILARLY NAMED PROGRAMS** 
 
Lead Society: Lead Society: Biomedical Engineering Society Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation

Cooperating Societies: American Ceramic Society, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and IEEE
 
**Underline means new changes. Strikethrough means deleted.
These program criteria apply to engineering technology programs that include healthcare, bioengineering, biomedical, biomedical equipment, clinical technology, medical equipment, medical electronics, or similar modifiers in their titles. An accreditable program in in the design, application, installation, operation, an/or maintenance of biomedical equipment. Healthcare Engineering Technology will prepare graduates with the technical skills necessary to enter careers to work with clinicians and other healthcare professionals as part of a team to ensure the highest standards and best practices in medical device safety, security, interoperability and functionality.

Graduates of associate degree programs typically have strengths in the building, testing, operation, and maintenance of existing biomedical equipment or systems, whereas baccalaureate degree graduates are well prepared for development and implementation of biomedical equipment or systems.

Applicability

These program criteria apply to engineering technology programs that include bioengineering, biomedical, medical electronics, biomedical equipment, or similar modifiers in their titles.

Objectives

An accreditable program in Bioengineering Technology will prepare graduates with the technical skills necessary to enter careers in the design, application, installation, operation and/or maintenance of biomedical equipment.  Graduates of associate degree programs typically have strengths in the building, testing, operation, and maintenance of existing biomedical equipment or systems, whereas baccalaureate degree graduates are well prepared for development and implementation of biomedical equipment or systems.
Outcomes

Graduates of associate degree programs must demonstrate knowledge and hands-on competence appropriate to the goals of the program in:

a.   the application of circuit analysis and design, analog and digital electronics, microcomputers, bioengineering systems, and safety in the building, testing, operation, and maintenance of biomedical equipment.

b.   the applications of physics, chemistry, and biological sciences to building, testing, operation, and maintenance of biomedical equipment in a rigorous mathematical environment at or above the level of algebra and trigonometry.

In addition to the above, graduates of baccalaureate degree programs must demonstrate:

c.   the ability to analyze, design, and implement bioengineering systems.

d.   the ability to utilize statistics/probability, transform methods, discrete mathematics, or applied differential equations in support of bioengineering systems.

e.   an understanding of the clinical application of biomedical equipment.ms.
I. PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR ASSOCIATE LEVEL PROGRAMS

Curriculum

The curriculum must prepare associate degree graduates with the knowledge, techniques, skills, and use of modern equipment in healthcare engineering technology. Graduates of associate degree programs will be well prepared to work in equipment planning, purchasing, installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and on-call technical support of medical device technology and systems. 

The curriculum for associate degree programs must include analog and digital electronics, medical device principles, applicable codes and regulations, medical vocabulary, the structure and function of the human body, an internship at a clinical site, as well as IT concepts including computers, peripherals, networks, and software. The associate degree curriculum will prepare graduates to have competency in the following curricular areas: 

a.       the interaction of medical equipment* with the human body;

b.      the principles of medical equipment, safety and operational tests, the use of test results in order to improve processes and ensure that equipment is functioning properly and safely with appropriate documentation;

c.       information technology principles applied to medical equipment systems, including data security and privacy standards; and

d.      potential unsafe conditions related to the use of medical equipment and systems, preventative and corrective actions including risk mitigation.


*Source: ANSI/AAMI EQ89
II. Program Criteria for Baccalaureate Level Programs

Curriculum

The curriculum must prepare baccalaureate degree graduates with the knowledge, techniques, skills, and use of modern equipment in healthcare engineering technology.   Baccalaureate degree graduates will be well prepared to support the use of medical devices in healthcare, focusing on selecting safe and effective medical equipment, maintenance of medical equipment and systems, contribute toward improving patient outcomes, educating clinical staff, and controlling costs through financial stewardship.
 

The curriculum for baccalaureate degree programs must include analog and digital electronics, medical device principles, applicable codes and regulations, medical vocabulary, the structure and function of the human body, an internship at a clinical site, as well as IT concepts including computers, peripherals, networks, cybersecurity, and software.  In addition, baccalaureate degree curriculum must include asset management, imaging modality fundamentals, risk analysis, and process improvement. The curriculum will prepare graduates to have competency in the following curricular areas:

a.    the interaction of medical equipment* with the human body.

b.    the principles of medical equipment, safety and operational tests, the use of test results in order to improve processes and ensure that equipment is functioning properly and safely with appropriate documentation.

c.    the clinical application of computer networks, networking protocols, and medical device interoperability including data security and privacy standards.

d.    potential unsafe conditions related to the use of medical equipment and systems, preventative and corrective actions including risk mitigation.

e.    technology utilized in specialized clinical areas such as patient imaging and the operating room, including the interconnectedness (connectivity) of medical devices and systems.

f.     the principles of project management to the healthcare setting.

g.    the financial information associated with the process of clinical equipment acquisition, management and support including budgeting and life-cycle planning.

 

*Source: ANSl/AAMI EQ89

Question Title

* 1. If you would like to provide comments regarding the proposed criteria, please provide them below.

T