Biomedical Engineering (BME) aims at applying engineering expertise and advances to the field of medical needs and bioscience for the enhancement of healthcare. It is one of the fastest growing engineering disciplines today. There is a growing worldwide recognition that biomedical engineering will have an enormous impact on the upcoming improvement of health services and the emergence of new industries of biomedical-related products. Biomedical engineers will play key roles in designing innovative medical instruments and sensors, deploying the emerging information infrastructure, creating new biomaterials, and developing new medical biotechnologies.

According to a recent long-range forecast, career opportunities for biomedical engineers are expected to grow at double the average rate of all engineering disciplines in the coming decade [Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor]. This is not a U.S. phenomenon only. The development of biomedical engineering is a worldwide trend. Almost all the major universities in the world have now established and continued to strengthen the school/department/program of biomedical engineering or bioengineering during the past years.

Hong Kong is presently in a global trend of exploiting information and biomedical technology to deliver cost-effective and high quality healthcare service. Students trained in biomedical engineering will find challenging and rewarding careers and more opportunities in biomedical-related industries, government service agencies, consulting firms, research institutions, and entrepreneurial and start-ups companies. In this regards, CUHK is in a unique position to take advantage of the opportunity. The proposed Master of Science program in Biomedical Engineering builds on the already strong engineering and medicine faculties at CUHK to provide students with a rigorous background of knowledge, skills, insights, and abilities in individual specialties as well as across the field of biomedical engineering as a whole.

The mission and objectives of the Master of Science program in Biomedical Engineering are described as follows:

  • Mission:
    To be the premier source of well-educated biomedical engineers in the broad fields of medical devices, biosensors, bioinformatics , biomaterials, medical biotechnologies, and to cultivate future leaders in the field of biomedical engineering.

  • Objectives:
    • To create a unique and rigorous program that bridges and integrates the fields of pure biomedical and engineering disciplines, and to offer students an exciting interdisciplinary studying environment.
    • To educate and train future leaders in emerging areas which combine state-of-the-art technology with biomedicine applications to support a growing healthcare industry stimulated by breakthroughs in biomedical engineering research.

Study Mode

Division of Biomedical Engineering offers both part-time and full-time mode study on Master of Science Programme in Biomedical Engineering.

Part-Time Mode Study

  • Normative Study Period *: 2 years
  • Maximum Study Period: 4 years
  • Tuition Fee: Four installments of HK$22,500

Full-Time Mode Study

  • Normative Study Period *: 1 year
  • Maximum Study Period: 3 years
  • Tuition Fee: Two installments of HK$45,000

Remarks: * - A student who cannot complete all programme requirements within the normative study period shall write to the Graduate School for continuation of study beyond the normative study period, and will be requested to pay fees as required.

Entry Requirements

  1. Qualifications for Admission:

    The applicant shall have:

    • graduated from a recognized university and obtained a Bachelor's degree, normally with honours not lower than Second Class; or

    • graduated from an honours programme of a recognized university with a Bachelor's degree, normally achieving an average grade of not lower than "B" in undergraduate courses; or

    • completed a course of study in a tertiary educational institution and obtained professional or similar qualifications equivalent to an honours degree.

  2. Additional Entry Requirements:

    All applicants should fulfill the General Qualifications for Admission and the English Language Proficiency Requirement prescribed by the Graduate School. For more details, please visit the Graduate Schools homepage at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/gss.

    Non-local students who meet the entry requirements will be accepted.

  3. IT Proficiency Requirement:

    All postgraduate students are required to pass the IT Proficiency Test before they graduate. Students who have previously passed the International Computer Driving Assessment may apply for exemption from the IT Proficiency Test.

Other Requirements

  1. IT Proficiency Requirement. (Please refer to “Student IT Competence”.)
  2. Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0.
  3. A student who obtained a cumulative grade point average (GPA) below 2.0 in the preceding term or receives a failure grade in thesis monitoring courses (for Research Postgraduate Programmes) will be put on academic probation. For details, please refer to Clause 14.0 “Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies” of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can accessed from the Graduate School Homepage: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/gss.

Study Program Requirements

Students are required to obtain passing grades on a total of 24 units for graduation.

1. Required courses 9 units
2. Elective courses *#~^ 15 units
  Total: 24 units

Curriculum Structure

  • Courses: 9 credit units
    Course code: BMEG 5710
    Course Title: Introduction to Biomedical Engineering
    Units: 3
    Definition, scope, basic principles and problems in biomedical engineering. Applications of technology to medicine and biology. Contemporary issues and roles of engineering applied to complex biological systems. Brief description of professional ethics.
    Course code: BMEG 5720
    Course Title: Basic Biomedical Science
    Units: 3
    This course introduces students to the structure and function of anatomy, physiology, and chemical constituents of living systems. The course provides a system-based review of the structure and function, normal as well as abnormal, of cells, organs and systems. Emphases will be placed on those structures/functions that are important in biomedical engineering. Case studies will also be included to introduce the importance of medical sciences related to biomedical engineering.
    Course code: BMEG 5910
    Course Title: M. Sc. Project
    Units: 3
    The objective of this course is for students to get hands-on practical experience. Each student is required to design, simulate or test a medical device/algorithm/bioinformatics database.
  • Elective Courses: 15 credit units
    Course code: BMEG 5730
    Course Title: Medical Devices and Sensor Networks
    Units: 3
    Origins of physiological signals. The mechanisms of bioelectrical, biochemical, biophysical, and biophotonic sensors. The principles of wearable medical devices for homecare and mobile health care system. Features of body sensor networks (BSN). Security issues for BSN. Multi-sensor data fusion for BSN. Wearable and implantable sensor integration. Wearable devices and sensors for monitoring, diagnosis, therapy, spots, etc. Applications of medical devices, biosensors, and BSN.
    Course code: BMEG 5740
    Course Title: E-medicine Technologies
    Units: 3
    Concepts of tele-medicine, E-medicine, and M-health. Basic techniques in tele-medicine and M-health: communication systems and networks, medical devices, E-medical records, information security and confidentiality, medical data coding and compression, functions of PACS and HIS. Applications include: tele-surgery, tele-geriatrics, tele-monitorning and M-health etc.
    Course code: BMEG 5750
    Course Title: Medical Robotics
    Units: 3
    Introduction to robotics and its applications in biomedical engineering including diagnosis, surgery, and medical simulation. Classification of robot systems, forward and inverse kinematics associated to manipulator motion, robot design, control, sensing, and programming.
    Course code: BMEG 5760
    Course Title: BioMEMS and Bio-Nanotechnology
    Units: 3
    Introduction to MEMS and Nanotechnology, with focus on biomedical applications. Recent developments in BioMEMS, including micro-fluidic systems, integrated DNA analysis chips, and micro-fabricated bio-detection and cell-sorting systems. Recent advances in nanoscale biomedical applications, including AFM based bio-manipulation and bio-sensing, soft-lithography for DNA, proteins and cells, self-assembly of peptides and proteins, nanoscale drug delivery systems, and bio-nano-informatics fusion.
    Course code: BMEG 5770
    Course Title: Smart Materials for Medical Applications
    Units: 3
    Overview of smart materials technology; characteristics of smart materials such as piezoelectric materials, magnetorheological fluids, and shape memory alloys; smart actuators and sensors; design of medical devices; modeling and analysis of integrated systems; applications in biomedical engineering.
    Course code: BMEG 5780
    Course Title: Computational Modeling for Medical Applications
    Units: 3
    Overview of computational physics, with focus on medical applications; Shape modeling; Dynamical system modeling; Numerical integration of ODEs; Rigid body dynamics; Structured deformable objects; Constraints and non-smooth contact; Unstructured transport phenomena in biomedical engineering; PDEs and applications in biomedical applications; Computational fluid dynamics and its applications.
    Course code: BMEG 5790
    Course Title: Bioinformatics
    Units: 3
    This course covers DNA and protein bioinformatics. It introduces basic programming techniques, sequence analysis, including alignment of sequence, database search, statistical analysis, phylogenetic trees, scoring matrices, pattern recognition, clustering and structural prediction in bioinformatics.
    Course code: BMEG 5810
    Course Title: Prosthetics and Artificial Organs
    Units: 3
    Basic concepts of biological prosthetic systems and artificial organs; Functional electrical stimulation; Restoration of movement of paralyzed arms and legs; Design of implantable devices and systems; Replacements of kidney, lung, heart, and other organ functions and their electrical, mechanical, materials, chemical, pathological and surgical aspects.
    Course code: BMEG 5820
    Course Title: Virtual Medicine and Computer Aided Surgery
    Units: 3
    Image guided surgery, including CT base, fluoro-image, and others; non-image guided surgery. Introduction to clinical applications. Virtual reality and surgical simulation. Augmented reality and image-guided minimally invasive surgery. Use of telerobotics in surgery. Surgical navigation.
    Course code: BMEG 5830
    Course Title: Medical Imaging
    Units: 3
    The course introduces various diagnostic medical imaging modalities, such as projection radiography, conventional X-ray, computerized tomography (CT), nuclear medicine (PET and SPECT), ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Each of these modalities will be introduced from basic physical principles to the process of image formation. This course also reviews the basic signal processing techniques. Image processing and analysis will be introduced.
    Course code: *BBMS 5100
    Course Title: Perspectives in Biochemical Sciences
    Units: 3
    This course presents the latest developments and advancements in biochemical sciences as well as the current topics in the society. It aims to alert students the trends and recent breakthrough in biochemistry in medical research. Issues such as stem cell research and infectious diseases shall be examined in this course.
    Course code: *BBMS 5120
    Course Title: Biochemical Genetics and Forensic Sciences
    Units: 3
    The first part of the lecture covered in this course includes principles of genetics at the molecular level, biochemical nature of hereditary materials, genetic codes, regulatory mechanisms, molecular basis of mutation, and DNA replication and recombination. The second part of the lecture covers collection and processing of biological samples from crime scenes, DNA analysis using RFLP and PCR-STR typing methods, interpretation of DNA typing results, and court presentation of such biological evidence. Mitochondrial DNA typing and Y chromosome DNA typing will also be discussed.
    Course code: *BBMS 5200
    Course Title: Biochemical Technology I
    Units: 3
    This course is designed to acquaint students with the field of biochemical technology. It begins with an introduction to the principles of transgenic animal technology, mammalian cell culture technology and reproductive biotechnology. The course also covers the contemporary applications of biochemical technology in DNA sequencing and genome mapping, RNA biology and technology, drug discovery and development. In addition, the recent advances in stem cell research, forensic DNA analysis, and authentication of Chinese medicinal materials will also be discussed.
    Course code: *BBMS 5220
    Course Title: Biochemical Technology II
    Units: 3
    This course is an extension of the other course “BBMS5200 Biochemical Technology I”. It begins with an introduction to the basic principles of recombinant DNA technology and medical biotechnology. Modern approaches to identify and characterize cellular proteins will be introduced. Contemporary application of computing skills in data mining for biotechnological studies will also be discussed. Specifically, it includes the use of computational softwares and databases for DNA and protein sequence analysis. Based on these technologies, bioengineering of proteins (e.g. enzymes and antibodies) which are of medical and industrial importance will be illustrated. The application of x-ray crystallography in protein structural studies will also be introduced.
    Course code: *BBMS 6100
    Course Title: Biochemistry and Public Health
    Units: 3
    This course is concerned with the biochemical impacts in environment and food as they relate to public health. Attention is given to different approaches to pest control, water management, sewage management and treatment, and pollution from hazardous biochemicals and chemicals. Food additives, biochemical, chemical and microbial contaminants, and naturally occurring toxins associated with foods will also be discussed.
    Course code: *BBMS 6120
    Course Title: Clinical Biochemistry and Diseases
    Units: 3
    This course provides students with an introduction to the normal pathways of carbohydrate, lipid, nucleotide and amino acid metabolism. The course will outline the biochemical mechanisms for controlling these pathways under different physiological and nutritional conditions and discuss the importance of diseases arising from defects in these pathways. Particular emphasis will be placed on the biochemical mechanisms concerning the etiology, symptoms and treatment of diseases such as diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis and other lipid disorders, inborn errors of carbohydrates and amino acid metabolism. Also, how biochemical test results are utilized for the diagnosis and monitoring of diseases are described.
    Course code: *BBMS 6200
    Course Title: Methods in Biochemistry
    Units: 3

    This course will allow students to gain theoretical and practical, hands-on knowledge of various advanced research methodologies and their applications in biochemical research and pre-clinical services. Methods include:

    • Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blot analysis
    • Enzymatic assay
    • DNA electrophoresis and DNA fingerprinting
    • PCR and polymorphism analysis
    • Human cell culture and cytotoxicity assay
    • ELISA and flow cytometry
    • Bacterial transformation and test for food contamination
    • Statistical analysis of toxic chemicals in environment
    Course code: *BBMS 6300
    Course Title: Management and Accreditation of Biochemical Laboratory
    Units: 3
    The aims of this course are to introduce basic concepts and adequate skills of laboratory management, safety and quality assurance in biochemical laboratories. Special topics such as biochemical testing and manufacturing process, good laboratory practice, laboratory accreditation, genetic testing and experimental protocols and method validation etc, will be discussed.
    Course code: #ORTY 5034
    Course Title: Clinical Sports Medicine
    Units: 3
    To further widen the exposure of students and enable them to apply knowledge and skills they learnt from previous courses, this course is designed to provide students with the valuable opportunities of clinical attachment, under the supervision of experienced doctors with expertise in sports medicine. Moreover, students will have the chances to attend relevant educational courses launched by reputable regional and international sports medicine and sports science related organizations. To be more flexible, students are allowed to choose their preferred timeslots from the list of available options for attachment and courses. Students are also required to complete course assignments or other forms of assessment.
    Course code: ^HTI 5115
    Course Title: Applied Biosignal Processing
    Units: 3
    Subject Description Form (HTI 5115.pdf)
    Course code: ^HTI 5124
    Course Title: Biomaterial and Tissue Engineerings
    Units: 3
    Subject Description Form (HTI 5124.pdf)
    Course code: ^HTI 5126
    Course Title: Clinical Biomechanics
    Units: 3
    Subject Description Form (HTI 5126.pdf)
    Course code: ^HTI 5127
    Course Title: Nanobiotechnology
    Units: 3
    Subject Description Form (HTI 5127.pdf)
    Course code: ^HTI 5134
    Course Title: Rehabilitation Engineerings
    Units: 3
    Subject Description Form (HTI 5134.pdf)
    Course code: ^HTI 5151
    Course Title: Intellectual Property, Standards and Regulations of Medical Devices
    Units: 3
    Subject Description Form (HTI 5151.pdf)
    Course code: ^HTI 5155
    Course Title: Research Methods and Biostatistics
    Units: 3
    Subject Description Form (HTI 5155.pdf)

    Remarks:

    1. * Courses offered by School of Life Sciences of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. About the details of course information, please visit the website at http://www.bch.cuhk.edu.hk/msc/.

    2. # Course offered by Division of Orthopaedics and Traumatology of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. About the details of course information, please visit the website at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/whoctr/MSc/.

    3. ~ Courses offered by other M.Sc. Programmes from Divisions within the Engineering Faculty of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. About the details of course information, please visit the website at http://www.erg.cuhk.edu.hk/.

    4. ^ Courses offered by Department of Health Technology and Informatics (M.Sc. Programme in Biomedical Engineering) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. About the details of course information, please visit the website at http://www.polyu.edu.hk/JUCBE/index.html. For the completed course of HTI XXXX with passing grade, students should apply for course and unit exemptions in order to fulfill the graduation requirement.

    5. Students are allowed to take up to TWO non-BMEG courses, but no more than ONE course from each of the above specified groups (1), (2), (3) and (4); subject to approval of Divisions / Units concerned.

Course and Unit Exemptions

As stipulated in the Policy on Course and Unit Exemptions for Postgraduate Students, the total number of units exempted may not exceed half of the required number.

Application Procedures

Application forms and package are obtainable at the Graduate School Office of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Room G01, G/F, Academic Building No. 1, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T.), or by sending an email to bmegrad@cuhk.edu.hk with the applicant's postal address.

Applicants may also make their applications via the Internet (https://www.gradsch.cuhk.edu.hk/onlineapp/programme_list.aspx?FAC=ERG).

Application Deadline:
    June 30, 2012 (for Local Applicants only)

Completed application forms and required supporting documents should be returned to the Division of Biomedical Engineering.

Please send applications to:

Ms. Winnie F. K. WONG
BME Program Assistant
Room 213, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong.

Enquiries

Contact person: Ms. Winnie F. K. Wong
Address: Room 213, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building,
The Chinese University of Hong Kong,
Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong.
TEL: (852)3943 8337
FAX: (852)2603 6002
Email: bmegrad@cuhk.edu.hk
Homepage: http://www.bme.cuhk.edu.hk

Teaching Time Table

Teaching Terms

First term September 5, 2011 (Mon) – December 7, 2011 (Wed)
Add/Drop September 5, 2011 (Mon) – September 19, 2011 (Mon)
Course Examination December 8, 2011 (Thu) – December 23, 2011 (Fri)
Second term January 9, 2012 (Mon) – April 27, 2012 (Fri)
Add/Drop January 9, 2012 (Mon) – January 21, 2012 (Sat)
Course Examination April 30, 2012 (Mon) – May 11, 2012 (Fri)

1st Term, 2011-2012 (Period: September 5, 2011 – December 7, 2011)


BMEG 5710
Course Code: BMEG 5710
Course Title: Introduction to Biomedical Engineering
Course Coordinator: Prof. LIAO, Wei Hsin (whliao@cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor: Mr. CHEUNG, Eric (echeung@cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week: Monday
Period: 6:45 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.
Venue: Room 407, 4/F, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK (ERB 407)
BMEG 5720
Course Code: BMEG 5720
Course Title: Basic Biomedical Science
Course Coordinator: Prof. WAYE, Miu Yee, Mary (mary-waye@cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor: Mr. LAW, Patrick (patricklaw@cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week: Tuesday
Period: 6:45 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.
Venue: Room 407, 4/F, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK (ERB 407)
BMEG 5740
Course Code: BMEG 5740
Course Title: E-medicine Technologies
Course Coordinator: Prof. ZHANG, Yuan Ting (ytzhang@ee.cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor: Miss LIU, Qing (qingliu@ee.cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week: Thursday
Period: 6:45 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.
Venue: Room 804, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK (ERB 804)
BMEG 5750
Course Code: BMEG 5750
Course Title: Medical Robotics
Course Coordinator: Prof. LIU, Yun Hui (yhliu@mae.cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor: Mr. LAU, Nick (tklau@mae.cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week: Wednesday
Period: 6:45 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.
Venue: Room 804, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK (ERB 804)
BMEG 5820
Course Code: BMEG 5820
Course Title: Virtual Medicine and Computer Aided Surgery
Course Coordinator: Prof. LEUNG, Kwok Sui (ksleung@cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor: Mr. TSANG, Patrick (pltsang@cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week: Friday
Period: 6:45 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.
Venue: Room 804, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK (ERB 804); Bioskill Lab, Orthopaedic Learning Centre (1/F Li Ka Shing Specialist Clinic, North Wing, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin); Seminar Room 1, 2/F, Clinical Sciences Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin; Jockey Club Minimally Invasive Surgical Skills Centre (3/F Li Ka Shing Specialist Clinic (North Wing), Prince of Wales Hospital) -- please check the venue with the tutor

2nd Term, 2011-2012 (Period: January 9, 2012 – April 27, 2012)


BMEG 5770
Course Code: BMEG 5770
Course Title: Smart Materials for Medical Applications
Course Coordinator: Prof. LIAO, Wei Hsin (whliao@cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor: Mr. CHEUNG, Eric (echeung@cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week: Thursday
Period: 6:45 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.
Venue: Room 804, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK, (ERB 804)
BMEG 5780
Course Code: BMEG 5780
Course Title: Computational Modelling for Medical Applicaitons
Course Coordinator: Prof. WANG, Chang Ling, Charlie (cwang@mae.cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor: Ms. LEUNG, Debbie (yleung@mae.cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week: Monday
Period: 6:45 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.
Venue: Room 804, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK, (ERB 804)
BMEG 5810
Course Code: BMEG 5810
Course Title: Prosthetics and Artificial Organs
Course Coordinator: Prof. MENG, Qing Hu, Max (qhmeng@ee.cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor: Mr. CHEN, Jimmy (xjchen@ee.cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week: Tuesday
Period: 6:45 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.
Venue: Room 804, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK, (ERB 804)
BMEG 5830
Course Code: BMEG 5830
Course Title: Medical Imaging
Course Coordinator: Prof. QIN, Ling (lingqin@cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor: Mr. HE, Berry (berry@ort.cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week: Wednesday
Period: 6:45 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.
Venue: Room 703, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK, (ERB 703)
BMEG 5910
Course Code: BMEG 5910
Course Title: M.Sc. Project
Course Coordinator: Prof. LIAO, Wei Hsin (whliao@cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week: Meetings will be arranged between students and supervisors

General Information

Typhoons and Black Rainstorm Arrangement

No class will be held:

  • on any public holidays and;
  • if typhoon signal No. 8 or black rainstorm warning is hoisted.

Suspension of Classes

  • If the local storm warning signal No. 8 or above or the black rainstorm signal is hoisted at 5:00 p.m. , evening classes starting from 6:30 p.m. will be suspended.
  • If the local storm warning signal No. 8 or above or the black rainstorm signal is hoisted during a class period, all classes will be suspended immediately. When the black rainstorm signal is still in force, students are advised to take shelter in a safe place until the weather and traffic conditions have improved.

Examination Arrangements

The examination arrangements will be as follows:

Typhoon Signal Rainstorm Signal Signal Hoisted Examination Arrangements

No. 1 or No. 3

Amber or Red

-

Examinations to be held as scheduled

No. 8 or above

Black rainstorm

After start of examination

Examinations will continue until the end of the session

No. 8 or above

Black rainstorm

5:00 p.m. or after

Evening examinations will be postponed. The arrangement for the postponed examinations will be announced by the teachers concerned.