Medicine by Design: The Practice And Promise of Biomedical Engineering

by Montaigne, Fen

• ISBN13: 9780801883477
• ISBN10: 0801883474
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780801889059
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-04-01
• Publisher: JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV PRESS
• More Book Details

Summary

A heart that once beat erratically has regained its natural rhythm. A woman paralyzed by an automobile accident is now able to resume her favorite hobby. Physicians using a robotic surgeon named da Vinci perform life-saving operations. These are some of the feats of biomedical engineering, one of the fastest-moving areas in medicine. In this exhilarating book, award-winning writer Fen Montaigne journeys through this little-known world, sharing the stories of ordinary people who have been transformed by technology. From the almost commonplace pacemaker to the latest generation of artificial hearts, Montaigne tells the stories of pioneering patients, engineers, and surgeons. Taking the reader behind the scenes of a dozen of America's leading academic centers of biomedical engineering, Montaigne recounts the field's history while describing cutting-edge work in medical imaging, orthopedics, cardiovascular care, neurological therapies, and genetics. Through the stories of patients whose lives have been saved and improved by biomedical devices, Montaigne reveals the marriage of medicine and engineering to be one of society's greatest advances.

Author Biography

Fen Montaigne is a freelance writer who often contributes to National Geographic. His previous books include Surviving Galeras (Houghton Mifflin, 2001), Reeling in Russia (St. Martin's, 1998), and The First Directorate (St. Martin's, 1994).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
PROLOGUE	1	(6)
CHAPTER 1. The Rise of a New Field	7	(11)
CHAPTER 2. The New Generation	18	(13)
CHAPTER 3. Beyond the Artificial Heart	31	(14)
CHAPTER 4. The Pump and Its Pipes	45	(12)
CHAPTER 5. To Breathe Again	57	(5)
CHAPTER 6. The Wires	62	(15)
CHAPTER 7. Moving into the Brain	77	(13)
CHAPTER 8. The da Vinci	90	(7)
CHAPTER 9. The Virtual Surgeon	97	(10)
CHAPTER 10. Bones	107	(14)
CHAPTER 11. The Pictures	121	(10)
CHAPTER 12. Seeing the Unseen	131	(16)
CHAPTER 13. The Business	147	(21)
CHAPTER 14. Weng's Wars	168	(10)
CHAPTER 15. Tissues	178	(15)
CHAPTER 16. Body Builders	193	(13)
CHAPTER 17. The Road Ahead	206	(17)
Index	223