The engineering profession in Malta has seen a remarkable change throughout the past 10 years. As our society becomes more technological, the need for professional engineers increases. Governments are becoming more aware that economic growth and prosperity is intrinsically dependent on technology. The need for engineers is reflected in the increase in the number of students attending engineering degree courses. A field in which local engineering graduates are more active in is biomedical engineering, which is the theme of the Chamber of Engineers annual conference for this year.
Biomedical engineering is concerned with the application of scientific principles to the design of systems for the purpose of healthcare. The field is very diverse and includes the design of medical devices such as implants, prosthetics, artificial organs, dental implants and pacemakers. Another area of biomedical engineering is medical imaging such as X-ray, ultra-sound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines. Clinical engineering is a sub-branch of biomedical engineering, which deals with the actual application of medical equipment.
Each of these applications requires knowledge from other different engineering fields such as materials engineering, mechanical engineering, electronics engineering and chemical engineering. In Malta, graduate engineers are well versed in these branches of engineering and hence do not find the transition to the biomedical engineering field too difficult.
The Chamber of Engineers is the organisation that represents the engineering profession in Malta. It organises annual conferences on various engineering topics of interest. This year’s conference is entitled Engineering: The backbone of healthcare. The aim of this conference is to provide insight to engineers and other professionals on this ever-growing branch of engineering. Professor Peter Dearnley will be the first keynote speaker and will introduce the audience to the topic of human joint replacements. Simon Attard will give an overview of healthcare systems. May Agius and Sharon Borg will describe a case study where Assistive Technology is used to assess functional communication, curriculum and leisure. The second keynote presentation will also involve a case study, which will be presented by Damaris Lofaro along with a patient giving firsthand experience on the technology of Deep Brain Stimulation. The conference will conclude with two parallel sessions related to Treatment Technologies and Diagnostics.
It is fortunate that the role of biomedical engineers is being given more importance. Growth of the local healthcare system strongly depends on this. Authorities have the obligation to invest not only in this area of engineering but also in research, which will not only lead to innovation in local industry, but also attract foreign investment. The biomedical engineering field is one where research is very active and Malta could play an important role.