Editorial Corrected

FOREWORD

Empowered by digital technologies and ubiquitous telecom networks, the demand for

better biomedical devices and procedures is rapidly expanding not just in hospitals

but in homes and on one’s person. Fueled by this demand, the importance of

biomedical engineering (BME) is growing worldwide. IIT Madras BME faculty is

among the oldest biomedical engineering groups in India with diversity spanning

several disciplines.

The IIT Madras Research Park, home to the Healthcare Technology Innovation

Center (HTIC) and MedTech Incubator, along with a plethora of healthcare startups,

is right next door to the campus and provides entrepreneurs access to our BME labs

and faculty for fostering innovations in healthcare. Our Clinical Engineering program

along with CMC Vellore and Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences is a

unique program, while the Centre for Technology and Policy (CTAP) at IIT Madras

focuses on healthcare policy. Recently, a new paper for BME was introduced in the

GATE exam, which will set the standard for the BME curriculum in India. IIT Madras

was among the key drivers in this initiative.

I am glad to note that this whitepaper on BME in India includes some snapshots

of the work carried out over the years at IIT Madras. I congratulate

Prof. M. Manivannan and his team for taking this important step of identifying the

challenges in BME for greater acceleration of healthcare in India. India has great

potential to be a global leader in providing frugal innovations in healthcare

technologies, and I hope that this whitepaper will pave the way for the Biomedical

Engineering community to serve society even better in future.

Bhaskar Ramamurthi

Director, IIT Madras

PREFACE

More than a decade, IIT Madras has been attempting to introduce a GATE paper for

Biomedical Engineering. Only when Prof. Jagadeesh Kumar who is a pioneer in BME

became the dean of academic courses at IIT Madras in 2017, the effort of introducing the

new GATE paper gained momentum. The time was ripe in 2018 when IIT Madras became

the GATE organizing institute under the chairmanship of Prof. Nilesh Vasa who is again a

pioneer in BME sensors.

With both the BME stalwarts in the steering wheels at IITM, I was given the opportunity to

take the efforts forward, first by organizing a meeting of all IIT BME faculty to discuss

syllabus for the new GATE paper. We organized the meeting on 5th Oct 2018 for the first

time to discuss the syllabus. The finalized syllabus was subsequently accepted and a new

paper was introduced in 2019 when IIT Delhi was the organizing institute for GATE exams.

When we were discussing the syllabus for the GATE paper in the first meeting, we realized

that the BME curriculum in India needs a total revamp. We found that the curriculum was

totally lacking connection with the industries. This is when we realized that our responsibility

was not merely setting the GATE syllabus, but also to make recommendations to all the

stakeholders of BME in India for a successful transformation.

The inspiration for this whitepaper has come from another whitepaper “Strategies and A

Road-map For Development of Instrumentation in India” by a committee constituted by

Prof. M. S. Valiathan, then president of Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi,

chaired by Dr. S. K. Sikka, Scientific Secretary, Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to

the GOI, published in June 2004.

The purpose of this current whitepaper is to help improve the quality of BME programs in

India by identifying and addressing many challenges, bringing together all the stakeholders

of BME in India.

For writing the current whitepaper, we interviewed several leaders of BME in industries,

academia, government think-tanks, and other stakeholders. The highlight of the whitepaper

is the recommendations for each of the stakeholders for the transformation in BME.

This whitepaper is an effort of many authors passionate about the BME transformation in

India who have contributed in various stages of writing. Collectively, we all believe that the

most important and productive approach to solving the current challenges facing BME is to

discuss and to plan a common strategy for transforming BME education in India. This

whitepaper is the result of this strong belief. We all hope that the government policy makers

will consider the recommendations in this whitepaper for a mission-mode action in the near

future.

M. Manivannan, IIT Madras

Lead Author and Editor,

5 May 2021

Lead Author and Editor:

Dr. M. Manivannan, IIT Madras

Authors (in alphabetical order)

1. Dr. Amit Mishra, IIT Jodhpur

2. Dr. Chandra P. Sharma, Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute for

Medical Sciences & Technology

3. Dr. Deepak Joshi, IIT Delhi

4. Dr. Dilip Kumar Chekuri, Andhra Pradesh Medtech Zone

(AMTZ), Kalam Instituteof Health Technology (KIHT)

5. Dr. S. Guha, IIT Delhi

6. Dr. Harish Nadkarni, Ex CEO of National Accreditation Board for

Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH)

7. Dr. Jitendra Sharma, Andhra Pradesh Medtech Zone (AMTZ),

Kalam Institute of Health Technology (KIHT)

8. Dr. Dhirendra S. Katti, IIT Kanpur

9. Dr. Kaushik Sarathy, IIT Hyderabad

10. Dr. Krishna Mohan Poluri, IIT Roorkee

11. Dr. Manjunatha M, IIT Kharagpur

12. Dr. A.G. Ramakrishnan, IISc Bangalore

13. Dr. S. Ramakrishnan, IIT Madras

14. Dr. Sameer Mehta, President, Consortium of

Accredited Healthcare Organizations(CAHO)

15. Dr. Subhajit Roy Chowdhary, IIT Mandi

16. Dr. T. M Srinivasan, S-VYASA Yoga University, Bengaluru

17. Dr. Srivastava Naidu, IIT Ropar

18. Dr. Sushil Chandra, INMAS, DRDO, New Delhi

19. Dr. Uttama Lahiri, IIT Gandhinagar

20. Dr. Venkat Kalambur, Siemens Healthcare, Bengaluru

21. Dr. Soumyo Mukherji, IIT Bombay

2 | Page

Executive Summary 4

Background 5

Biomedical Engineering 5

Students’ Outcomes in BMyE programs 6

Biomedical engineers as human resources for health 7

Responsibilities and roles 8

Importance of BME Programs in India 8

Many variants of BME programs in India 9

Stakeholders of BME Programs in India 11

Why BME Programs Failed in India 11

Lack of Integration 11

Lack of BME Jobs 11

Lack of Local Interest 12

Lack of Standard Curriculum 12

Plaguing BME Curricula in India 12

Higher Studies Woes for BME Graduates in India 14

Scope of this Whitepaper 16

Aims and Objectives of this Whitepaper 16

History of BME Programs in India 17

IIT Madras 18

IIT Delhi 19

IIT Bombay 19

Anna University, Center for Medical Electronics 19

IIT Kanpur 19

IIT Kharagpur 20

IIT Hyderabad 20

Unique BME programs in India 21

School of Medical Science and Technology 21

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Clinical Engineering Programmed at IIT Madras 21

Stanford-India Biodesign 22

The School of International Biodesign at AIIMS 22

Medical device innovation program @ IIT Hyderabad 23

Visionary Institutes for Biomedical Engineering in India 23

SCTIMST 23

CMC Vellore 24

IIT-Delhi and AIIMS 24

IIT Madras 25

Andhra Pradesh Medtech Zone (AMTZ) 25

Kalam Institute of Health Technology (KIHT) 26

Living Legends of Indian Modern BME 26

MS.Valiathan 26

Sujoy Guha 27

Dhanjoo Ghista 27

Future of BME in abroad 27

Comparison Table of BME in India and in other countries 28

Opportunities for BME in India 28

Challenges: 29

Opportunities: 29

Impact of indigenous biomedical instruments 30

Jaipur Foot 30

TTK-Chitra Valve 31

Aurolab’s Intra-Ocular Lenses (IOL) 32

GE’s Revolution ACT 32

Kalam-Raju stent: 33

Sahajanand Medical Technologies 33

Smart-Cane 33

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DBT-AMTZ COMManD Strategy 34

Vision for BME programs in India 35

Exponential Technologies 35

Medical Devices Park in Every State 35

Academic Liaisons and Industry Partnerships 35

Physiological Database for BME in India 36

Indian Medicine and BME Programs in India 36

Modern Instruments for Indian Medicine 36

Modeling and Simulation for Indian Medicine 38

Exponential Technologies for Indian Medicine 38

Technologies for Skills Training in Indian Medicine 38

Recommendations 39

Recommendations to Universities and Colleges 39

Recommendations to Teachers of BME subjects 41

Recommendations to Students of BME programs 42

Recommendations to BME Industries 43

Recommendations to Policy makers in Government 44

Recommendations to Funding Agencies 47

Recommendations to Hospital Management 48

Recommendations To NMC (MCI) 49

Recommendations To Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) 49

Appendix A: List of Incubators for Biomedical Engineering Healthcare Tech 50

Appendix B: GATE Syllabus for BME 54

Appendix C: Funding for Biomedical Startups 56

Appendix D: Biomaterials Research in India 61

Appendix E: Societies of BME in India 65

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Executive Summary

Planning for India's wellness care, rather than the illness-care, where 80% of the

population is rural, is indeed a Himalayan task for the Government of India. As

healthcare is becoming more and more instrumentation and devices-based, providing

essential biomedical equipment to chosen centers, reaching remote corners of India,

is challenging. Biomedical Engineering (BME) education system is the backbone of

healthcare innovation in India. Unfortunately, the BME education system is hitherto

ignored and needs special attention urgently.

Although India's BME educational system is developing for the past 50 years, its

development has not accelerated enough compared to other programs in India.

As a first step in addressing major challenges of BME education in India, a new

separate paper for Biomedical Engineering in GATE has been introduced from 2020.

This is expected to unify the UG syllabus of BME among several universities and help

stimulate BME research, product development, and Innovation in India.

Unless BME is strengthened carefully at this stage, our precious foreign exchange

resources will continue to be wasted. Of paramount importance is the need to develop

a robust indigenous BME industry and, in turn, BME education systems, the spine of

the healthcare industry. The troubles and travails of Indian BME educational institutes

and industries are discussed in workshops, and some remedies suggested in these

workshops are enumerated in this whitepaper. The Government must extend its full

support to this noble endeavor.

In a mission mode, India urgently needs dedicated and visionary BME institutes and

programs that can breed scientists and engineers with in-depth training in medical and

clinical sciences. Such trained people would function as independent investigators on

important problems at the interface of engineering, technology, clinical medicine, and

science, similar to faculty at Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology

(HST), at the same time adapting the rich wellness heritage of India.

India has enormous potential and is poised for innovations from conceptions frugal,

simple, and therefore affordable, leading the world in affordable wellness technologies.

Background

Biomedical Engineering

Biomedical Engineering (BME) is one of the more recently recognized

disciplines in the practice of engineering. It is a highly interdisciplinary and

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upcoming field of technology around the world. BME has been described as the

fastest-growing job market in the western world. The demand for BME

engineers is growing at a rate of about 20% every year.

BME plays a vital role in a range of clinical fields, from diagnosis and analysis to

treatment and recovery, and has entered the public consciousness through the

development and proliferation of implantable medical devices, such as pacemakers

and artificial hips, as well as the more futuristic technologies such as gene therapy,

stem cell engineering and 3-D printing of biological organs.

The World Health Organization (WHO)

describes the work of biomedical

engineers as follows: Trained and qualified biomedical engineers are needed

for designing, assessment, regulating, maintenance, and management of

medical devices present in health systems around the world. In response, the

European Economic and Social Committee stated: "Biomedical Engineering is

not simply a subset of modern medicine. Modern medicine predominantly

secures important advances through the use of the products of biomedical

engineering".

John Hopkin University Definition of BME: “Biomedical engineering education must

allow engineers to analyze a problem from both an engineering and biological

perspective, anticipate the unique difficulties in working with living systems, and

evaluate a wide range of possible approaches solutions”.

The Biomedical Engineering program for UG/PG focuses on a strong foundation in

mathematics, basic sciences, engineering, and life sciences. Biomedical Engineers will:

1. Continue utilizing and enhancing their engineering and biological training

to solve health and healthcare issues globally relevant and based on

scientifically and ethically sound principles.

2. Demonstrate leadership in their respective careers in biomedical

engineering or interrelated areas of industry, government, academia,

and clinical practice, and

3. Engage in life-long learning by continuing their education in graduate or

professional school or through opportunities for advanced career or

professional training.

Students' Outcomes in BME programmes

“Currently, BME courses in India are defined in terms of their duration, syllabus, and content

HUMAN RESOURCES FOR MEDICAL DEVICES The role of biomedical engineers, WHO Medical

device technical series, 2015

https://www.bme.jhu.edu/undergraduate/objectives-outcomes/

6 | Page

(Content-based education). Clear learning objectives as to what students were

expected to learn are still missing. On the other hand, Outcome-Based Education

(OBE) is the approach where the students' abilities drive decisions about the

curriculum by the end of the course. It provides an explicit statement of what the

curriculum is setting out to achieve. The transfer of the education system from the

traditional approach to Outcome-Based Education (OBE) had resulted in a significant

improvement in many educational institutions worldwide. BME courses are optional for

OBE due to their interdisciplinary nature”

After completing a bachelor's degree in BME, students will demonstrate the

ability in:

● Applying knowledge of mathematics, science, engineering, and medicine

● Designing and conducting experiments, as well as analyze and interpret data

● Designing a system, medical instrument, component, or process to meet

desired needs with realistic constraints such as economic, environmental,

social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability

● Functioning on multidisciplinary teams

● Identifying, formulating, and solving engineering problems

● Understanding professional and ethical responsibility

● Communicating effectively

● Obtaining the broad education necessary to understand the impact of

engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal

context

● Recognizing the need for, and engage in life-long learning

● Gaining knowledge of contemporary issues

● Using the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for

engineering practice

Program outcomes:

● Graduates must have the ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science,

engineering, and medicine.

● Graduates must have the ability to design and conduct experiments and

analyze and interpret data.

● Graduates must have the ability to design a system, medical instrument, its

components, or processes to meet the desired needs.

● Graduates must have the ability to function within multidisciplinary teams.

● Graduates must have the ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering

problems.

● Graduates must have an understanding of professional and ethical

responsibilities.

● Graduates must have the ability to communicate effectively.

● Graduates must have the broad education necessary to understand the impact

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of engineering solutions in a global and societal context.

● Graduates must recognize the need for, and the ability to engage in, life-long

learning. J Graduates must know contemporary issues.

● Graduates must have the ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern

engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.

● Graduates must demonstrate adequate knowledge of biology, physiology, and

the capability of applying advanced mathematics (including differential

equations and statistics), science, and engineering to solve the problems at the

interface of engineering and biology.

● Graduates must demonstrate an ability to make measurements on, interpret

data from living systems, and address the problems associated with the

interaction between living and non-living materials and systems.

The difference between different levels of academic degrees in BME can be

summarized as in the following diagram

Biomedical engineers as human resources for health

BME is a field of practice that brings many, if not all, from the classical fields of engineering

together to assist in developing a better understanding of the physiology and structures of the

human body, to support the knowledge of clinical professionals in the prevention, diagnosis,

and treatment of disease, and to modify or supplement the anatomy of the body with new

devices and clinical services.

“A key objective of biomedical engineers is to have devices that are of good

quality, effective for the intended purpose, available, accessible, and

affordable

. When these objectives are met, and devices are used safely,

patients' lives may be saved, quality of life increased and there will be positive

economic outcomes; the final goal is to attain better care levels. The

Coates, J., & Takafumi, A. (2019). Biomedical Engineering. Careers in Biomedical Engineering, 37–

65.doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-814816-7.00003-0

HUMAN RESOURCES FOR MEDICAL DEVICES The role of biomedical engineers, WHO Medical

device technical series, 2017

8 | Page

prerequisites for this to happen are health technology policies in national health

plans, available human and financial resources, and scientific and technological

advances that lead to usable knowledge and information.”

Responsibilities and roles

“Biomedical engineering professionals are key players in developing and

advancing the usage of medical devices and clinical services. Depending on

their training and sector of employment, the responsibilities of biomedical

engineering professionals can include overseeing the research and

development, design, safety, and effectiveness of medical devices/systems;

selection and procurement, installation, integration with electronic medical

records systems, daily operations monitoring, managing maintenance and

repairs, training for safe use and upgrading of medical devices available to

health-care stakeholders. Biomedical engineering professionals are employed

widely throughout the health technology and health-care industries, in the

research and development (R&D) of new technologies, devices, and treatment

modalities, in the delivery of health care in hospitals and other institutions, in

academia, government institutions, and in national regulatory agencies.”

Importance of BME Programs in India

“The importance of BME programs is hardly noticed in India. India's medical

device industry is presently valued at USD 5.2 Billion and is growing at 15.8%

CAGR”

. Currently, India is counted among the top 20 global medical devices

market and is the 4th largest medical devices market in Asia after Japan, China,

and South Korea and is poised to grow to USD 50 billion by 2025. The medical

device market is dominated by imported products, which comprise around 80%

of total sales. Domestic companies are primarily involved in manufacturing low-

end products for local as well as international consumption. Lately, many

multinational companies have established local presence by acquiring

established domestic companies or starting a new business.

As the Indian Medical Devices industry grows, there will be a need for biomedical

engineering professionals. In the current scenario, the role of biomedical engineers is

limited. Once high-end equipment is manufactured locally, there will be a surge in

demand for skilled biomedical engineers.

BME programs are the backbone of the medical devices industry in a country. As

long as the BME programs are not strengthened, any country would depend on

foreign technologies for its healthcare technologies. The following figure shows

how BME programs are the basis of the entire ecosystem of medical innovation.

http://www.makeinindia.com/article/-/v/sector-survey-medical-devices

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Many variants of BME programs in India

BME includes equivalent or similar disciplines, whose names might be different, such

as medical engineering, electromedicine, bioengineering, medical and biological

engineering, and clinical engineering. The following list describes subtle differences

between closely related terms with BME.

Medical Instrumentation: Bioinstrumentation or Medical

Instrumentation specializes in the detection, collection, processing, and

measurement of many physiological parameters of the human body,

from more straightforward parameters like temperature measurement

and heart rate measurement to the more complex such as quantification

of cardiac output from the heart, detection of the depth of anaesthesia in

the unconscious patient and neural activity within the brain and central

nervous system. They have been responsible for developing and

introducing modern imaging technologies such as ultrasound and

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Bioengineering: The profession named Bioengineering and/or

Biological Engineering is younger than biomedical engineering and

emerged with the realization of manipulating living cells. Bioengineering

has engineering at its core and includes physics, mechanics, electronics,

and computational methods applied to physiology and medicine.

Biological Engineering: Biomechanical engineers apply engineering

principles to further the understanding of the structure of the human

body, the skeleton and surrounding muscles, the function and

engineering properties of the organs of the body, and use the knowledge

gained to develop and apply technologies such as implantable

prostheses and artificial organs to aid in the treatment of the injured or

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diseased patient to allow them to enjoy a better quality of life.

Biomechanical Engineering: Biomechanical engineers apply

engineering principles to further the understanding of the structure of the

human body, the skeleton and surrounding muscles, the function and

engineering properties of the organs of the body, and use the knowledge

gained to develop and apply technologies such as implantable

prostheses and artificial organs to aid in the treatment of the injured or

diseased patient to allow them to enjoy a better quality of life.

Clinical Engineering: Clinical engineers support and enhance patient

care by applying engineering and managerial skills to healthcare

technology, as described and elaborated by the American College of

Clinical Engineering. Clinical engineers are trained to solve problems

when working with complex human and technological systems of the

kind found in health care facilities. Clinical engineers have the function

of technological systems manager for medical equipment, including

information systems in health care facilities. In hospitals, clinical

engineers provide valuable feedback on the operation of medical

equipment and contribute to the research and development from their

direct experience. Often, they work in teams with nurses and other health

professionals in the assessment of new concepts and products, as well

as in clinical trials.

Rehabilitation Engineering: Those who design, develop and apply

assistive devices and technologies are those whose primary purpose is

to maintain or improve an individual's functioning and independence to

facilitate participation and enhance overall wellbeing.

There are few other programs closer to computer science applied in medicine and

biology, resulting in developing newer research fields such as biomedical informatics,

bioinformatics, and health informatics.

Stakeholders of BME Programs in India

Students are the key stakeholders of BME programs; others are

■ Universities

■ Colleges

■ Teachers

■ Parents

■ Industries

■ Governments

■ Funding Agencies

■ Hospitals

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Why BME Programs Failed in India

Although BME was established in India way back in the 1970s, around the

same period when the IITs were established, it has failed to attract the best

students even after half a century of its existence in Indian colleges.

Lack of Integration

BME is underdeveloped in India mainly due to the lack of integration between

research institutions, hospitals, industries, and universities in India. For

example, clinicians and engineers work in isolation, not in collaboration. In

developed nations such as the USA, UK, and Singapore, excellent integration

exists between universities, industries, and hospitals, thereby creating the

perfect environment for R&D in BME. This isolated working of the main

stakeholders of BME in India led to several problems for graduates of BME

programs in India, such as poor job market, lack of standard curriculum among

the institutions offering BME programs, lack of fundamentals among the BME

graduates, and several other issues. This scenario is changing, and India is

likely to become the center of global healthcare research soon.

Lack of BME Jobs

In India, most of the jobs related to Biomedical Engineering are in non-tech

areas such as service, maintenance, customer support, sales, and

management. Students interested in pursuing a career in research and core

development work in Biomedical Engineering look for jobs in universities, labs,

and research centers in India or pursue MS and Ph.D. studies abroad.

The job scenario for the existing Biomedical engineers is discouraging, as

presently, many of the Biomedical firms in India prefer electrical, electronics, or

computer science graduates to Biomedical graduates. As a result of this, a BME

graduate is either unemployed or forced to continue further studies or change

the field to secure a job. Even the software industry, recruiting graduates of

other allied branches of Electrical engineering is not considering Biomedical

engineers in the campus recruitment. This indicates a wide gap between the

needs of the industries and the undergraduate BME curriculum. To reduce the

gap and make the curriculum industry oriented, the undergraduate curriculum

needs to be modified by deleting the subjects that are found irrelevant and

obsolete and incorporating relevant state-of-the-art subjects.

Lack of Local Interest

It is well known that engineering, particularly medical devices, is most

successful when it caters to local design constraints and develops solutions for

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the local environment. BME programs in India should ensure that local

perspectives are incorporated in a medical device design so that BME

engineers can address the local needs and consider the constraints of

impoverished communities in our environment. For example, BME programs in

India are tailor-made to cater to the Medical Imaging needs of the country, as

there are demands from MNCs in India.

Lack of Standard Curriculum

Biomedical engineering curricula have to adapt to the new needs and

expectations of the future

. Unfortunately, In India, the curriculum has not

changed in many years.

Plaguing BME Curricula in India

Biomedical engineering (BME) education in India is still in its infancy. Several

Engineering Institutions in India have been offering undergraduate courses for

decades now, and a few thousands of students have been conferred degrees.

As the number of colleges and the number of students seeking to enroll in this

program is continuously increasing, many more institutions are planning to start

this undergraduate course.

Major problems with the BME programs in India are that

● No Standardization of BME syllabus in the UG: The curriculum is vastly

different and has a varied focus.

● No catering to Industries or Hospitals: The curriculum is not designed to

cater to the local industry or hospitals

● Hospitals in India do not need BME: The local policy does not require

BME engineers to be consulted in the hospital setup. The hospitals do

not see the value addition by the BME graduates.

● Industries in India do not need BME: Local industries do not see value

addition by the BME engineers.

“The BME curriculum in India is poorly designed without a definite learning objective.

In 1998, the National Science Foundation announced a competition for an Engineering

Research Center in Bioengineering Educational Technologies. This center was

awarded to a partnership led by Vanderbilt University that included Northwestern

University, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Harvard/MIT Health Sciences

Jaime Punter-Villagrasa, Jordi Colomer-Farrarons, Francisco J. del Campo, Pere Miribel-Català,

Amperometric and Impedance Monitoring Systems for Biomedical Applications, vol. 4, pp. 167, 2017.

13 | Page

and Technology Program (VaNTH ERC). This group identified several issues

regarding education in biomedical engineering that they judged needed new effort or

review. These were as follows

1. How can undergraduates be adequately trained in biology and engineering

within the constraint of a four-year bachelor's degree program?

2. How can students be prepared for and be introduced to the actual practice of

BME in businesses, industries, and health care organizations?

3. What academic organizations will foster BME education at all levels?

4. How should BME relate to other academic programs in engineering, health

professions, and life science?

5. What are the roles of businesses, industries, and hospitals in BME education?

6. How can the unique complexities of BME be addressed—bioethical questions,

complicated regulatory environment, rapid rates of obsolescence for graduates

and teachers?

7. How can instructors cope with the minimal amount of teaching material for

BME?

8. What are emerging biotechnologies, and how should they be taught?

9. How can realistic laboratory exercises be created?

10. How does one teach the more significant uncertainties in design inherent in

technology aimed at living systems?

11. At the doctoral level, what should be the balance between training in biological

and engineering science methodologies?”

All these issues are relevant to India as well and just as unaddressed. Few studies

show that BME learning environments should be changed

, and they should be

learner-centered, knowledge-centered, assessment-centered, and community-

centered. Also, recent advances in learning technologies can help us to achieve this

new learning environment with efficiency. Biomedical engineering educators can

design and implement new learning systems that can take advantage of advances in

learning science, learning technology, and reform in engineering education.

Higher Study Woes For BME Graduates in India

The lack of integration of BME stakeholders is mainly because of a lack

of a standard BME curriculum. There is no consensus among the

stakeholders on what to expect from BME graduates. There was no

effort to standardize the BME curriculum in India. A new GATE paper in

BME introduced in the year 2020 can make a difference in alleviating

Harris TR. 2001. Annual Report on the VaNTH ERC. http://www.vanth.org/ Annual Report3.pdf

Harris, T. R., Bransford, J. D., & Brophy, S. P. (2002). Roles for Learning Sciences and Learning

Technologies in Biomedical Engineering Education: A Review of Recent Advances. Annual Review of

Biomedical Engineering, 4(1), 29–48.doi:10.1146/annurev.bioeng.4.091701.125

14 | Page

some of these problems, if not eliminating them.

In recent times, the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) has become

the gateway for higher education and jobs in many government institutions

(PSUs, DRDO Labs, ICMR Centers) in India and few educational institutes

abroad. The GATE exam primarily tests the comprehensive understanding of

various undergraduate subjects in engineering and science. Unfortunately, the

BME graduates did not have a GATE paper until now and had to appear in

several other subjects, which were not their strength. Therefore, they could not

fare well in these tests, which led to a poor show in the job market, which

reduced the quality of students opting for BME programs in a vicious cycle.

The subjects of interest in GATE for BME engineers were mostly two: IN

(Instrumentation and Engineering) and EC (Electronics and

Communication Engineering), closer to the BME curriculum. In other

words, the Biomedical engineering syllabus is much different from IN and

EC (electronics and communication). To appear in any of the two

streams (IN or EC), BME graduates needed to prepare much more than

their curriculum and compete with graduates from other streams in which

the other students have specialized: there are many more colleges

offering UG courses in IN or ECE. Therefore, the chances of BME

students getting good ranks in GATE was very slim.

Before introducing the new GATE paper, most BME students appear in the IN

paper rather than the EC paper in GATE. There are two reasons why this is so:

1) IN (Instrumentation and Control) is closer to the BME curriculum than the

EC, 2) competition in EC paper is much more than the IN paper for BME

students.

Only a tiny percentage (6%) of BME graduates who appear in the GATE

(about 1000) could qualify. In 2017, 18,045 students appeared in the

GATE in IN, and 2,190 qualified. BME students who appeared in the IN

paper among the qualified ones are merely 27 (1.23%). In 2018, about

1024 students qualified in the GATE in IN paper, among them BME

graduates are merely 28 (2.73%).

Students with "Control and Instrumentation (IC)" background were faring much

better than BME students. Even though an equal number of students from BME

and IC appeared in the IN paper of GATE, BME students lose out to IC. In 2017,

the IN GATE paper was taken by BME (710), IC (896), however qualified ones

were BME (27), IC (211). Similarly, in 2018, IN GATE paper was taken by BME

(747), IC (880), however qualified ones were BME (28), IC (313). This shows

that the IN GATE paper is biased to the IC candidates. Similarly, in 2017

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1,41,177 took EC in GATE, and 19278 qualified; among them, merely 6 are

BME candidates. In 2018, about 1,24,946 took EC in GATE, and 10898 are

qualified; among them, merely 3 are with BME background.

The challenges of BME graduates in India were discussed in a recent

meeting at IIT Madras, organized by the Biomedical Engineering Group

of Applied Mechanics Department, with representations from several

IITs. It was decided to propose a new GATE paper for BME to solve

some of the issues. The committee proposed a syllabus that emphasizes

the fundamentals required for BME graduates. The proposal was

approved by the National Coordination Board of GATE and scheduled

to be implemented in 2020 onwards.

The new GATE paper enabled testing in some of the most crucial BME skills:

Anatomy, Physiology, and human-machine interaction knowledge of

Biomedical engineering. The new GATE paper would enable solving the problem

mentioned above and letting GATE play a pivotal role in the growth of BME in

India. A separate paper for BME in GATE would standardize the BME

curriculum throughout India. Currently, each state has a different definition of

BME and, therefore, its own curriculum.

BME students appeared in many different GATE papers in 2020:

BM(1486), BT(18), CS(2), EC(20), EE(3), GG(1), IN(49), MA(1), ME(1),

ST(1), XE(16), XL(21). Out of these appeared BME candidates, only few

are qualified: BM(38), BT(6), CS(0), EC(2), EE(1), GG(0), IN(8), MA(0),

ME(0), ST(0), XE(8), XL[4). The GATE BM paper was taken by

candidates from different degree disciplines: BME(1486), Biomedical

Instrumentation(33), Biosciences(3), Biotechnology(9), Instrumentation

and Process COntrol(3), Instrumentation Engineering and

Technology(7). Out of these appeared candidates, the qualified ones

are: BME(38), Biomedical Instrumentation(0), Biosciences(1),

Biotechnology(0), Instrumentation and Process Control(0),

Instrumentation Engineering and Technology(1).

The following figure compares the BME core and elective courses in few major

universities in India.

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Scope of this Whitepaper

This report mainly focuses on the undergraduate BME programs in India to

describe the different roles that biomedical engineers in India can play and

identify factors that determine the quality of biomedical education in India.

This publication addresses only the role of biomedical engineering education in

developing, regulating, managing, training, and using medical devices, particularly

undergraduate programs in biomedical engineering in India.

Aims and Objectives of this Whitepaper

This report aims to serve as a guideline for various stakeholders of BME education in

India.

Three major objectives of this whitepaper are:

1) To list various challenges BME programs facing in India

2) To list unique opportunities for BME programs in India

3) To list recommendations for various stakeholders to improve the BME

programs in India.

History of BME Programs in India

The practice of BME is not new in India. Ancient texts referring to Sushruta and

his techniques of Rhinoplasty are widely known. However, in this document, we

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will refer to only the modern Biomedical Engineering programs developed after

independence.

“Modern Biomedical engineering has been recognized in India for at least five

decades. Technological developments have been in areas of importance to the

country, with several groups actively involved in promoting bioengineering all over

India. A group at the National Physical Laboratory has contributed significantly to

ultrasonics and the development of piezoelectric transducers for other biomedical uses

way back in the 1970s. Along with the BME group at IIT Madras, the Centre for

Biomedical Engineering of IIT Delhi and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences is

one of the country's first BME centers producing outstanding work in areas like

instrumentation, rehabilitation, biomaterials, modelling, and analysis. Research in

technology applied to reproductive physiology (an area especially relevant to India's

needs) was initiated at this centre. Research at the School of Environmental Sciences,

Jawaharlal Nehru University, has elucidated the effects and mechanisms of low-

energy electromagnetic radiation and ultrasound on biological systems. In one of the

school's projects, bone material for ultrasonic transducers and optical detectors was

successfully demonstrated

.”

Spearheaded by Dr. Sujoy K. Guha, the first national symposium on Biomedical

Engineering was held in H. B. Technological Institute (HBTI), Kanpur in 1967, followed

by the first national short term course on BME in 1968 at HBTI.

Chronological List of Institutes that started Biomedical Engineering programs in India

Med Biol Eng. 1969 Jul;7(4):457-9. Biomedical engineering in India. Guha SK, Krishnamurthy KS.

PMID: 5359249

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Institute

Year of

establishment

Details

Institute of Aviation

Medicine

1969

Biomedical Engineering Group

Electronic Radar

Development

Establishment

1970

Medical Engineers Group

IIT Madras

1971

Biomedical Engineering Group in the Department

of Applied Mechanics

IIT Delhi

1971

Biomedical Engineering Group

IIT Bombay

1988

Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering

Anna University

1998

Center for Medical Electronics in the Department of

ECE

IIT Kanpur

2001

Department of Biological Sciences and

Bioengineering

IIT Kharagpur

2001

School of Medical Science and Technology

IIT Madras

First Biomedical Engineering Division in India was established in IIT Madras and IIT

Delhi in 1971. IIT Madras group was initiated by Prof. Danjoo Ghista, who returned

from NASA to India. This division was expanded in 1972 to include four faculty with T.

M. Srinivasan, K. M. Patil, and Megha Singh, along with S. Radhakrishnan. Many other

institutions followed suit, with IIT Delhi emerging as an important centre in the North.

Over the next decade, teaching and research, innovative medical devices,

biomechanical concepts, and procedures were introduced in hospitals in and around

Chennai

. They were: a stereotactic instrument to aid in brain surgery, rehabilitative

aids, biofeedback procedures for neurological deficits, footwear for diabetic foot,

functional electrical stimulation for drop foot, ultrasound instruments, optimization of

correction in scoliosis, and cardiac support through counter pulsation theory, etc. were

developed. Many of these were in use in hospitals around Chennai at that time.

Med Res Eng. 1972;11(6):19-25. Biomedical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (Madras)-

I. Ghista DN.

Med Res Eng. 1980;13(2):23-6. Biomedical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, (Madras)-

II. Ghista DN.

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IIT Delhi

“The Centre for Biomedical Engineering at IIT Delhi was established in 1971 at the

same time as IIT Madras as a Joint venture of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi. Sujoy Kumar Guha is the pioneer

in Biomedical Engineering who founded the Centre for Biomedical Engineering, IIT

Delhi, and AIIMS and obtained his MBBS degree from Delhi University. The Centre

has applied engineering principles to address medical and biological problems. Over

the years, the Centre has become a premier center in the country. On the 29th of Aug

2018, both the institutes signed a formal MoU for building a more robust Health Care

system by Engineering and Technology interventions through 'cross-institutional

interactions' between the two premier institutes."

IIT Bombay

“The Biomedical Engineering Group (BME) at IIT Bombay was set up in 1988. It is

now a part of the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering (BSBE). Biomedical

Engineering is one of the youngest engineering disciplines and has made tremendous

progress in the last four decades. This has been aided by rapid advancements in

Semiconductor Technology, Information Technology, and Biotechnology. In

Biomedical Engineering, researchers with expertise in diverse areas work towards the

unified goal of creating products and techniques for better health care. The

backgrounds of faculty in BME at IIT Bombay reflect the broad spectrum of expertise

required to make better and more affordable health care a reality.

Further, the students admitted to the program have backgrounds in Engineering,

Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Medicine, making it the only program in the

country to offer M.Tech. Admission to such a unique mix of candidates. Creating a

heterogeneous class composition promotes interaction between students and faculty

of different backgrounds and provides research opportunities in exciting

interdisciplinary areas.”

Anna University, Center for Medical Electronics

The Centre for Medical Electronics was established in 1998 in the Department of

Electronics and Communication Engineering. The centre researches Medical

Electronics and Biomedical Engineering and establishes collaboration with medical

industries and hospitals.

IIT Kanpur

The department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering was established in the year

2001 with the vision of conducting cutting-edge research and providing quality

teaching and research training in basic biology, biomedical, and bioengineering fields.

Their faculty and students come from various science and engineering disciplines and

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work in challenging problems that transcend science, engineering, and medicine

boundaries.

IIT Kanpur is currently setting up a highly interdisciplinary School of Medical Research

and Technology (SMRT), a medical school with Centres of Excellence (CoE) and a

first-of-its-kind super-specialty teaching hospital in India. Combining medicine with

engineering and encouraging cross-disciplinary learning, SMRT will provide an

ecosystem that promotes the development of technology-based interventions for

diagnosis, surveillance, management, mitigation, and prevention of diseases.

IIT Kharagpur

The School of Medical Science and Technology (SMST) was started at IIT Kharagpur

in 2001 to provide a platform for interdisciplinary teaching and research in diverse

medical science and technology areas. The School has collaborated with some of the

best medical research institutes and medical industries worldwide. The School

introduced an interdisciplinary three-year Master's Program in Medical Science and

Technology (MMST) - the first of its kind in the country. Admission to the MMST

program is granted to MBBS doctors each year based on the performance in an

entrance test conducted all over the country. The School's MMST program is the only

comprehensive physician-scientist training program in India that aims to bridge the

gap that has historically separated biological sciences from engineering and physical

sciences. The school also offers a 4-semester M.Tech program in (1) Biomedical

Engineering and (2) Medical Imaging & Informatics. The School of Medical Science

and Technology offers the following M.Sc. programs:- (1) MEDICAL PHYSICS (3YR.

M.SC.) (2) NUCLEAR MEDICINE (2YR. M.SC.) in collaboration with Tata Medical

Center, Kolkata, with AERB accreditation and (3) MOLECULAR MEDICAL

MICROBIOLOGY (2YR. M.SC.)

IIT Hyderabad

IIT Hyderabad has one of the first dedicated departments for Biomedical engineering

amongst the IITs in the country (est. 2010), focusing on technology development to

address the country's healthcare needs with a substantial collaboration with the clinical

ecosystem. IIT-H has been a trendsetter in academic education in the field. IIT

Hyderabad integrates various disciplines like Biomedical imaging, nano,

biotechnology, biomechanics, biomaterials, bioinstrumentation, biosensors,

computational biology, biophysics, and neurotechnology under a single umbrella with

a focus on translational research to create a formidable positive impact in healthcare

infrastructure. With the aim of AtmaNirbhar Bharath in Medical Devices and

Healthcare Technologies, IIT Hyderabad envisages training of Biomedical Engineers

and researchers from the grassroots with a strong technology-oriented curriculum from

the Undergraduate and above.

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One of the first Bachelor's programs in Biomedical engineering from IITs has taken

shape at IIT Hyderabad due to deliberations with multiple stakeholders to create well-

equipped human resources who can take part in the research & development of

medical devices and products. IITH has also been running successful Masters and

Ph.D. programs in Biomedical engineering for more than ten years. Research is

centered around problems through cutting-edge deep-tech solutions through strong

clinical collaborations.

Unique BME programmes in India

School of Medical Science and Technology

“The School of Medical Science and Technology (SMST) was started at IIT Kharagpur