UMTH: Biomedical Engineering, Keeping Up With Patient’s Medical/Healthcare Needs

UMTH: Biomedical Engineering, Keeping Up With Patient’s Medical/Healthcare Needs

By: Balami Lazarus

Most people limit engineering to civil, electrical, mechanical, aeronautics, building, hydroengineering, and a few others. However, engineering is wide and vast, not limited to the few fields mentioned. Are you aware that the human body system is a work of bioengineering?

NEWSng was recently at University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) and was informed of the roles of biomedical engineering in maintenance and services for keeping the hospital’s biomedical machines running, such as MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and CT scan (Computed Tomography) scanner machines are all used for diagnosis.

Biomedical engineering is a rare field of engineering that deals and works with delicate, sensitive hospital machines for better medical and healthcare services that are carried out through some of these machines.

Therefore, biomedical engineering combines engineering arts and principles with medical and biological sciences through biomechanics/devices to enhance better medical care services in the hospital.

Speaking with Engr. Silas Habu Gamdu, the head of biomedical engineering of UMTH, said that hospitals like UMTH cannot stand without biomedical engineers in discharging their medical services for those in need in order to diagnose and understand their ailments. “Most of the delicate and sensitive machines of this hospital, like MRI and CT scans, are basically used for diagnosis as a human lifeline to improve medical/healthcare.”

Engr. Habu Gamdu further informed NEWSng that UMTH is an institutional hospital where teaching and medical research are part of her primary responsibilities. The need for biomedical machines is necessary. The status of UMTH under the leadership of Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo, where we have specialized medical centers…These

Biomedical machines like Fresenius, Baxter, NIPRO, and PET, among others, are like jugular veins that indicate and determine patients’ clinical diagnoses—ailments/treatments.

Engr. Habu emphasized this by saying, “There are many other machines in the hospital that the biomedical engineers maintained to enable the hospital to perform at its maximum capacity in diagnosis.”

NEWSng findings revealed that biomedical engineers not only work with hospitals and clinics but are also found in medical companies and research institutions, including pharmaceutical industries.

Engr. Gamdu said that his department is faced with inadequate biomedical engineers considering the extent and large numbers of biomedical machines/tools available in the hospital.

UMTH: Biomedical Engineering, Keeping Up With Patient’s Medical/Healthcare Needs