Free Post 1: More Answers

Since I still had some questions left from my first prompted post. I thought I would answer them in this post.these are the questions I asked in my earlier post that couldn't be answered by the textbook I checked out of the library. I am going to do some poking around on the internet and see what kind of answers I can come up with

• Do biomedical engineers work more in Hospitals or laboratories?

After looking into this I found that biomedical engineers tend to work very closely with medical professionals, however, it was unclear as to where they tended to work the most. One site said that biomedical engineers commonly worked in hospitals, research laboratories, universities, and large industrial companies. Working at a university and in an industrial company were both places I had not initially thought of when I first pondered where some one of this profession would work. I don't know why I didn't think of those places it seems so obvious to me in retrospect.

• Have they made artificial blood?

I had heard in passing one time that biomedical engineers had created artificial blood and I have been wondering about it since. It turns out that they have done it. Engineers have made replacements for red blood cells in their ability to carry oxygen around the body. One type of blood replacement is based on perfluorocarbons. These chemicals dissolve oxygen and carry it around the body this dissolved oxygen is then biologically available for cells in the body. Currently these chemicals seem to be a last resort therapy since testing still needs to be done with both major types. to see if there are real negative effects on the body due to their use.

• How do they make prosthetic limbs that can read muscle impulses?

I have found out that this is only one of the few ways a functional prosthetic can work. One of these ways is by attaching cables to other parts of the body. For instance with the loss of a hand a cable could be brought to the opposite shoulder then when this shoulder is moved in certain ways it would pull the cable and make a prosthetic hand move in simple ways. The way I was first interested in was related to moving a limb just through making muscle movements based on what those muscles used to to. What I found out was that this only works if the muscles can still be contracted which is fairly rare among amputations. The prosthetics work by measuring the electrical impulses caused by the muscle contractions picked up by electrodes.the limb can then use a motor to move the limb based on which muscles are flexed.

• What is the history of prosthetic limbs?

I actually found the answer to this question when reading about the answer to the question above this one. prosthetic limbs were rumored to have been around for thousands of years but the first documented ones were from Greece, where they attached iron arms or hands on to the body. These couldn't move but they were a start. This technique was used in Europe through the dark ages. However, the oldest prosthetic ever recovered came from Egypt. A 3000 year old mummy who had a prosthetic toe crafted out of wood and leather. Peg legs and hook hands, as made famous by pirates, were a common treatment across Europe because they were so easy to get materials for. Not many advances really came until the use of anesthetics came about and doctors could make better amputations leading to better ability to outfit patients with prosthetics.

• What amount of the human body could be safely replaced with prosthetics in this day and age?

Albeit, this is a weird question to ask, but growing up being in love with Star Wars I just have to find out how much of a Darth Vader we could make today. Today we have rudimentary and basic forms of prosthetics in comparison to this science fiction example. We have limbs that can respond to existing muscle contractions. We can also make prosthetic organs such as kidneys a hearts and lungs. Currently scientists and biomedical engineers are working on models of brains so that they can make better decisions about brain operations such as severing the corpus callosum in operations to treat seizures in epileptic patients. So, granted you have enough time and money, you can replace almost any part of your body if the need arises.

Sources
Alberg, Timothy. "Artificial Red Blood Cells." University of Rhode Island Department of Electrical, ......Computer, and Biomedical Engineering. University of Rhode Island, n.d. Web. 8 Sept. 2013.
"Biomedical Engineer FAQ's." UCONN: Biomedical Engineering Department. University of Connetticut, ......2011. Web. 8 Sept. 2013.

Clements, Isaac P. "How Prosthetic Limbs Work." HowStuffWorks. Discovery, 25 June 2008. Web. 08 ......Sept. 2013.
University of California - Santa Barbara. "Synthetic blood platelets developed."ScienceDaily, 30 May 2012. ......Web. 9 Sep. 2013.