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Unit outline_

BMET1960: Biomedical Engineering 1A

Semester 1, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Biomedical Engineering 1A introduces students to the exciting interdisciplinary field of Biomedical Engineering through lectures from experts in the key thematic areas of Biomedical Engineering, and practical hands-on training that every Biomedical Engineer needs to know. Areas you will cover include: (i) Medical Imaging; (ii) Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering; (iii) Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology; (iv) Medical Devices and Sensors; (v) Biomechanics and Computational Biomedical Engineering; (vi) Biomanufacturing; and (vii) Bionics and Neuromodulation. You will also complete two major assignments. Assignment 1 is the BMET1960 CANNES (creatively argued no-nonsense ethics scenarios) Film Festival, in which you will develop a persuasive position on a biomedical ethical scenario with your peers and present it creatively in a video. In Assignment 2 you will explore one of the areas of Biomedical Engineering that interests you and present a hypothetical "game-changing" technical report for the field. The quizzes, assignments and exam make up 60% of the total assessment. The remaining 40% comprises practical work (the Manufacturing Technology Workshop) involving a range of hardware and software skills vital to your future work as an engineer. We hope this introductory unit stirs your passion and interest in the exciting field of Biomedical Engineering!

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Biomedical Engineering
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
ENGG1960 OR ENGG1800 OR CIVL1900 OR CHNG1108 OR MECH1560 OR AERO1560 OR MTRX1701 OR AMME1960
Assumed knowledge
? 

HSC Mathematics Extension 1 (3 Unit)

Available to study abroad and exchange students

No

Teaching staff

Coordinator Andre Kyme, andre.kyme@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Final exam Final exam
20% Formal exam period 2 hours
Outcomes assessed: LO7 LO13 LO10 LO9 LO8
Tutorial quiz Weekly quiz
5% Multiple weeks n/a
Outcomes assessed: LO7 LO13 LO10 LO9 LO8
Participation Manufacturing technology workshops
40% Multiple weeks n/a
Outcomes assessed: LO3 LO14 LO6 LO5 LO4
Assignment group assignment Assignment 1
10% Week 08
Due date: 24 Apr 2020 at 17:00
n/a
Outcomes assessed: LO2 LO11 LO12
Assignment Assignment 2
15% Week 12
Due date: 22 May 2020 at 17:00
n/a
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO9 LO10 LO13 LO15
Assignment Tutorial Assessment
Participation and portfolio
10% Week 13 Whole semester
Outcomes assessed: LO7 LO9 LO10
group assignment = group assignment ?

Assessment summary

  • Weekly quiz (5%): Students are required to complete an online quiz following each lecture. Each quiz will assess students’ understanding of lecture content.
  • Assignment 1 (10%): This group assignment will require students to develop a creative and persuasive response to an ethically challenging biomedical scenario.
  • Assignment 2 (15%): This assignment will require students to develop a concise technical report addressing a key biomedical problem.
  • Tutorials (10%): Students are assessed based on holistic participation over the semester and a submitted portfolio demonstrating engagement with the course material.
  • Manufacturing technology workshops (40%): These workshops will assess students for participation, completion of exercises, quality of work and practical knowledge.
  • Final exam (20%): The final exam is multiple choice and tests students’ knowledge of the lecture content.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

 

Distinction

75 - 84

 

Credit

65 - 74

 

Pass

50 - 64

 

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

5% per day

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 1. Introduction to course; 2. Introduction to tomographic medical imaging Lecture (2 hr) LO7 LO9 LO10 LO13
Week 02 1. Anatomy and physiology for engineers. Lecture (2 hr) LO7 LO8 LO9 LO10 LO13
Week 03 1. Biomaterials; 2. tissue engineering; 3. mechanobiology. Lecture (2 hr) LO7 LO9 LO10 LO13
Week 04 1. Regulatory affairs; 2. engineering ethics. Lecture (2 hr) LO7 LO9 LO10 LO11 LO12 LO13
Week 05 1. Nanomaterials in medicine. Lecture (2 hr) LO7 LO9 LO10 LO13
Week 06 1. Nanotechnology in biomedical engineering. Lecture (2 hr) LO7 LO9 LO10 LO13
Week 07 1. Medical devices and sleep apnoea. Lecture (2 hr) LO7 LO9 LO10 LO13
Week 08 1. Medical devices and cerebral palsy. Lecture (2 hr) LO7 LO9 LO10 LO13
Week 09 1. Biomechanics and computational biomedical engineering. Lecture (2 hr) LO9 LO10 LO13
Week 10 1. Biomanufacturing. Lecture (2 hr) LO7 LO9 LO10 LO13
Week 11 1. Advanced bionics; 2. fundamentals of neuromodulation. Lecture (2 hr) LO7 LO9 LO10 LO13
Week 12 Introduction to Industry - networking, presentation and Q&A Lecture (2 hr) LO7 LO9 LO10 LO13
Week 13 CANNES Film Festival (Assignment 1 showing + award) Lecture (2 hr) LO2 LO11

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. generate a concise engineering report
  • LO2. develop a persuasive position on a real, ethically challenging scenario in biomedical engineering and creatively present this position to peers and supervisors
  • LO3. develop basic skills in engineering drawing, specifications and computer aided design
  • LO4. develop and articulate a design and development process for a medical device
  • LO5. develop basic machining and hand tool skills for biomedical engineering
  • LO6. gain a working understanding of microcontrollers (Arduino) and how to implement such a device in a simple biomedical project
  • LO7. understand what Biomedical Engineering is as a discipline and how it relates in a professional context to the medical devices industry and healthcare sector
  • LO8. understand and relate the key anatomical and physiological systems for medical device applications: (1) support and movement, skeletal system and muscular system; (2) control systems, nervous system; (3) regulation and maintenance; cardiovascular system
  • LO9. understand and relate the key concepts, goals and challenges of some of the major themes of biomedical engineering: imaging, biomaterials and tissue engineering, nanotechnology and medicine, computational biomedical engineering and bionics
  • LO10. understand the current state-of-the-art in some of the major themes of biomedical engineering: biomechanics, tissue engineering, bionics, medical imaging, nanotechnology, nanomaterials in medicine, biomanufacturing, computational biomedical engineering and mechanobiology
  • LO11. understand and apply ethical principles and regulations as they relate to biomedical engineering research and industry
  • LO12. understand how regulatory affairs relates to biomedical engineers and their work and apply key principles to biomedical scenarios
  • LO13. understand some of the key mathematical concepts, tools and tasks in the major themes of biomedical engineering: imaging, biomaterials and tissue engineering, nanotechnology and medicine, computational biomedical engineering and bionics
  • LO14. be able to identify and quantify design risk and risk mitigation
  • LO15. design, describe and justify a rigorous scientific experimental approach to solve a biomedical engineering problem.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

In response to tutor and student feedback: - major assignment 2 has been updated so that students choose from a list of biomedical problems rather than have to identify one from the literature themselves - weekly 1-hr tutorials have been added to consolidate material from the lectures and go deeper in connecting it with the real world

Work, health and safety

Refer the Manufacturing Technology Canvas site for detailed information on all work health and safety requirements for lab component of this unit.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.