Clinical Engineering

After the world wars, the mortality rates across the world have come down and the average age of people has gone up at many places. What do you think has changed apart from the peace prevailing at majority of the countries?

Yes, it is the better infrastructure, facilities and advanced technology in the area of healthcare that has resulted in increasing the life span of man. Clinical engineering applies engineering technology for the improvement and delivery of health services and is largely responsible for bringing about this positive change in the healthcare industry. It has basically acted as a strong support and a catalyst in the innovation and advances made in medicine.

Over the years, the field has changed from an initial focus on research activities to its current emphasis on equipment manufacturing & maintenance activities. As per standard definition, Clinical engineers generally team with Biomedical Equipment Technicians (BMETs) to support and maintain the medical devices used at the point of delivery of care.

As we progress into the 21st century, many countries are facing the problem of ageing population. As they try to take care of the older lot, they are encouraging more child births to maintain the average age lower. Hence, there is a lot more to look forward to in case you are interested in this field.

IIT Chennai, Christian Medical College, Vellore and Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology have jointly initiated the M Tech in Clinical Engineering for students with B Tech/ BE and a valid GATE score.