Division of Biomedical Engineering, CUHK

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 breakthrough in biomedical engineering research.

Study Mode

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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$21,250

Full-Time Mode Study

Normative Study Period: 1 year
Maximum Study Period: 3 years
Tuition Fee: Two installments of HK$42,500

Entry Requirements

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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.
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.
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.

Study Program Requirements

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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

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Required Courses: 9 credit units

Course code:	EMB 7010
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:	EMB 7020
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:	EMB 7910
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:	EMB 7110
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:	EMB 7120
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:	EMB 7130
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:	EMB 7140
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:	EMB 7150
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:	EMB 7160
Course Title:	Computational Modelling 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:	EMB 7210
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:	EMB 7310
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:	EMB 7320
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:	EMB 7330
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:	*BBB 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:	*BBB 5120
Course Title:	Biochemical Genetics and Forensic Sciences
Units:	3
	The topics covered in this course will include principles of genetics at the molecular level, including the biochemical nature of hereditary materials, the genetic code, regulatory mechanisms, and the molecular basis of mutation, DNA replication and recombination. Techniques in biochemistry such as gel electrophoresis for analysis of proteins and nucleic acids; DNA and RNA synthesis, isolation, cloning, and sequencing; RFLP and restriction enzyme analysis will be discussed. Their use in forensic analysis of biochemical evidence will be included.

Course code:	*BBB 5200
Course Title:	Biochemical Technology I
Units:	3
	This course is designed to acquaint students with the field of biochemical technology. Topics will include recombinant DNA technology, mammalian cell culture, protein expression and purification, antibody engineering, drug discovery and development processes. Also, applications of basic bioengineering principles to biochemical technology industries such as fermentation and enzyme technology will be included.

Course code:	*BBB 5220
Course Title:	Biochemical Technology II
Units:	3
	This course provides an introduction to the field of Genomics. It covers the structure of the human genome, and the strategies that were used to map and sequence the genome, and details how genomic sequence information is utilized for pharmacogenomics, drug discovery and diagnostics. The course will introduce the current technologies and approaches to identify and characterize cellular proteins. This course is also designed to introduce students to the main concepts, softwares and databases used in Bioinformatics in general public. Topics include the methods and algorithms for DNA and protein sequence analysis, database searching, structural bioinformatics and phylogenetic analysis.

Course code:	*BBB 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:	*BBB 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:	*BBB 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 Rasmol and computer tools for analysis Bacterial transformation and test for food contamination Statistical analysis of toxic chemicals in environment Fermentation technology

Course code:	#ORT 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:	Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering
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 Engineering
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 5153
Course Title:	Independent Study in Biomedical Engineering
Units:	3
	Subject Description Form (HTI 5153.pdf)

Course code:	^HTI 5155
Course Title:	Research Methods and Biostatistics
Units:	3
	Subject Description Form (HTI 5155.pdf)

Remarks:

* Courses offered by Division of Biochemistry 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/.
# 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/.
^ Courses offered by Department of Health Technology and Informatics 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 HTIXXXX with passing grade, students should apply for course and unit exemptions in order to fulfill the graduation requirement.
Students are allowed to take up to TWO non-EMB courses, but no more than ONE course from each of the above specified parties; subject to approval of the concerned parties.

Course and Unit Exemptions

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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

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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: March 15, 2010

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

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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:	2609 8337
FAX:	2603 6002
Email:	bmegrad@cuhk.edu.hk
Homepage:	http://www.bme.cuhk.edu.hk

Teaching Time Table

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1st Term, 2009-2010 (Period: September 7, 2009 – December 18, 2009)

EMB7010
EMB7020
EMB7110
EMB7130
EMB7160
EMB7320

EMB 7010

Course Code:	EMB 7010
Course Title:	Introduction to Biomedical Engineering
Course Coordinator:	Prof. LIAO, Wei Hsin (whliao@cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor:	Mr. Eric CHEUNG (echeung@cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week:	Monday
Period:	6:45 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.
Venue:	Room 703, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK (ERB 703)

EMB 7020

Course Code:	EMB 7020
Course Title:	Basic Biomedical Science
Course Coordinator:	Prof. WAYE, Miu Yee, Mary (mary-waye@cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor:	Mr. Patrick LAW (patricklaw@cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week:	Tuesday
Period:	6:45 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.
Venue:	Room 703, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK (ERB 703)

EMB 7110

Course Code:	EMB 7110
Course Title:	Medical Devices and Sensor Networks
Course Coordinator:	Prof. ZHANG, Yuan Ting (ytzhang@ee.cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor:	Dr. Mico WONG (ymwong@ee.cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week:	Thursday
Period:	6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Venue:	Room 703, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK (ERB 703)

EMB 7130

Course Code:	EMB 7130
Course Title:	Medical Robotics
Course Coordinator:	Prof. LIU, Yun Hui (yhliu@mae.cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor:	Mr. Nick LAU (tklau@mae.cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week:	Wednesday
Period:	6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Venue:	Room UG01, Wong Foo Yuan Building, CUHK (FYB UG01)

EMB 7160

Course Code:	EMB 7160
Course Title:	Computational Modeling for Medical Applications
Course Coordinator:	Prof. WANG, Chang Ling, Charlie (cwang@mae.cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor:	Mr. Yunbo ZHANG (ybzhang@mae.cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week:	Saturday
Period:	2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Venue:	Room 401, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK (ERB 401)

EMB 7320

Course Code:	EMB 7320
Course Title:	Virtual Medicine and Computer Aided Surgery
Course Coordinator:	Prof. LEUNG, Kwok Sui (ksleung@cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor:	Mr. Eric NG (ericng@cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week:	Friday
Period:	6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Venue:	Room 202, Esther Lee Building, CUHK (ELB 202) / Orthopaedic Learning Centre (1/F Li Ka Shing Specialist Clinic, North Wing, 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, 2009-2010 (Period: January 11, 2010 – April 30, 2010)

EMB 7120
EMB 7150
EMB 7210
EMB 7310
EMB 7330
EMB 7910

EMB 7120

Course Code:	EMB 7120
Course Title:	E-medicine Technologies
Course Coordinator:	Prof. ZHANG, Yuan Ting (ytzhang@ee.cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor:	Dr. Mico Wong (ymwong@ee.cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week:	Monday
Period:	6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Venue:	Room 703, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK, (ERB 703)

EMB 7150

Course Code:	EMB 7150
Course Title:	Smart Materials for Medical Applications
Course Coordinator:	Prof. LIAO, Wei Hsin (whliao@cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor:	Mr. Eric CHEUNG (echeung@cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week:	Thursday
Period:	6:45 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.
Venue:	Room 703, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK, (ERB 703)

EMB 7210

Course Code:	EMB 7210
Course Title:	Bioinformatics
Course Coordinator:	Prof. WAYE, Miu Yee, Mary (mary-waye@cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor:	Mr. Patrick LAW (patricklaw@cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week:	Friday
Period:	6:45 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.
Venue:	Room 703, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK, (ERB 703) Room 103, Y. C. Liang Hall, CUHK (LHC 103); ITSC Training Room, Room 102, Pi Chiu Building, CUHK (HCA 102) For the venue, please refer to the timetable posted in the CU forum.

EMB 7310

Course Code:	EMB 7310
Course Title:	Prosthetics and Artificial Organs
Course Coordinator:	Prof. MENG, Qing Hu, Max (qhmeng@ee.cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor:	Mr. Jimmy CHEN (xjchen@ee.cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week:	Tuesday
Period:	6:45 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.
Venue:	Room 703, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK, (ERB 703)

EMB 7330

Course Code:	EMB 7330
Course Title:	Medical Imaging
Course Coordinator:	Prof. QIN, Ling (lingqin@cuhk.edu.hk)
Course Tutor:	Mr. Berry HE (berry@ort.cuhk.edu.hk)
Day of Week:	Wednesday
Period:	7:00 p.m. - 9:40 p.m.
Venue:	Room 703, William M. W. Mong Engineering Building, CUHK, (ERB 703)

EMB 7910

Course Code:	EMB 7910
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

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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.