Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
derived. The three remaining base units are electric current (Ampere [A]), amount of sub-
stance (mole [mol]) and luminous intensity (candela [cd]). These three are not as applica-
ble to biofluid mechanics problems but may arise in problems throughout the textbook.
When converting between two different units, it is imperative to make sure that you
track the units you are converting and to make sure that the quantities are being converted
properly. For instance, if you are converting area, which is a length squared quantity, you
must multiply by the conversion factor twice. If there is addition or subtraction within
your equation, you also need to make sure that the units match up because 3 meters
minus 2 feet does not equal 1 meter (or 1 foot). You would first need to convert 2 feet to
x many meters to do this subtraction properly. This might seem trivial at this stage, but
when your problem involves multiple dimensions and multiple quantities, you must make
sure that your units are correct before you do the algebra.
END OF CHAPTER SUMMARY
1.1
This textbook will discuss basic fluid mechanics principles, flows within the macrocircula-
tion, flows within the microcirculation, other biological flows and experimental techniques.
1.2
The National Institutes of Health working definition of biomedical engineering is
“Biomedical engineering integrates physical, chemical, mathematical, and computational
sciences and engineering principles to study biology, medicine, behavior, and health. It
advances fundamental concepts; creates knowledge from the molecular to the organ systems
level; and develops innovative biologics, materials, processes, implants, devices and infor-
matics approaches for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, for patient rehabil-
itation, and for improving health.”
1.3
Fluid mechanics is useful for the analysis of anything that includes an interaction with a liq-
uid or gas. This includes traditional engineering applications, as well as many biological
applications.
1.4
Biofluid mechanics is focused on how biological systems interact with and/or use liquids/
gases. For humans, this includes obtaining and transporting oxygen, maintaining body tem-
perature and regulating homeostasis. Cardiovascular diseases account for nearly 1 of 3
deaths in the United States; the highest prevalence regions of cardiovascular diseases are
along the lower Mississippi River valley.
1.5
Dimensions are physical properties, whereas units are arbitrary names that correlate to a
measurement. There are seven base units, including time, length, mass, temperature, electric
current, amount of substance, and luminous intensity. All other physical parameters can be
related to these base units.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search