ALL 16 CHAPTERS COVERED
SOLUTIONS MANUAL
, Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Solutions to Questions
1. Write a definition (1-2 sentences) of biomedical engineering in your own words (test
yourself by not looking back at any of the definitions in the text when you write your own
definition).
Answer:
Students should have answers similar to these:
1. Biological or medical application of engineering principles or engineering
equipment.
(Merriam-Webster Online, Inc 2006.)
2. The application of biological techniques (as genetic recombination) to create
modified versions of organisms (as crops); especially: genetic engineering
(Merriam-Webster Online, Inc 2006.)
3. The application of engineering principles and techniques to problems in
medicine and biology, as the design and production of artificial limbs and organs.
(Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.)
2. Make two lists (of at least 10 items each) in response to the following two questions:
a. What products of biomedical engineering have you personally encountered?
Pick 3 of these products and write a description of what you think is good, and what
could be improved in that product.
b. What products of biomedical engineering do you expect to encounter in the next fifty
years?
Answer:
Answers will vary.
3. Pick a faculty member who teaches or does research in biomedical engineering at your
college or university for this exercise.
a. Perform a Medline search with your selected faculty member as the author to find a
list of articles that they have written in the past two years.
b. Select one of the articles and find a copy of it in your library (or online if it is
available in that format). Read it and write a brief review of the findings for a general
, Chapter 1
audience. In which sub-discipline of biomedical engineering does this research work
belong?
Answer:
Answers will vary.
4. Interview an older family member (parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle) about an advance in
medicine that they remember. Why was this advance memorable to them? How did they find
out about it?
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Solution to Problems
1. Drugs are often administered in capsules (Figure 1.17). Some capsules act as containers,
which hold many smaller particles that contain the active drug. Administration of the drug is
improved by the capsule; when the capsule breaks down in the intestine, and the particles are
freed from the container, the large surface area of the drug particles allows rapid dissolution
of the drug.
a. Assume that a capsule is approximately 1 cm long and 3 mm in diameter. Calculate
the surface to volume ratio of the capsule.
b. Assume that the capsule is filled with particles that are 0.4 mm in diameter. How
many of these particles will fit into one capsule?
c. What is the total surface area of the particles within the capsule?
Answer:
Part a
r = 1.5mm, l = 7mm
SA of cylinder = (excludes the two flat sides of the cylinder)
SA of sphere =
Vol of cylinder =
Vol of cylinder =
, Chapter 1
Part b
Volume of capsule
Volume of one particle where r = 0.2mm
=
=
Number of particles =
Part c
Total SA of particles = number of particles x SA of one particle
SA of one particle =
Total SA = 1898 x 5.03x10^-1 = 9546.94
2. Using only the information provided in Figure 1.1, estimate the following:
a. Human life expectancy in the year 1250.
b. Human life expectancy in the year 2050.
Answer:
a. 27 years.
SOLUTIONS MANUAL
, Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Solutions to Questions
1. Write a definition (1-2 sentences) of biomedical engineering in your own words (test
yourself by not looking back at any of the definitions in the text when you write your own
definition).
Answer:
Students should have answers similar to these:
1. Biological or medical application of engineering principles or engineering
equipment.
(Merriam-Webster Online, Inc 2006.)
2. The application of biological techniques (as genetic recombination) to create
modified versions of organisms (as crops); especially: genetic engineering
(Merriam-Webster Online, Inc 2006.)
3. The application of engineering principles and techniques to problems in
medicine and biology, as the design and production of artificial limbs and organs.
(Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.)
2. Make two lists (of at least 10 items each) in response to the following two questions:
a. What products of biomedical engineering have you personally encountered?
Pick 3 of these products and write a description of what you think is good, and what
could be improved in that product.
b. What products of biomedical engineering do you expect to encounter in the next fifty
years?
Answer:
Answers will vary.
3. Pick a faculty member who teaches or does research in biomedical engineering at your
college or university for this exercise.
a. Perform a Medline search with your selected faculty member as the author to find a
list of articles that they have written in the past two years.
b. Select one of the articles and find a copy of it in your library (or online if it is
available in that format). Read it and write a brief review of the findings for a general
, Chapter 1
audience. In which sub-discipline of biomedical engineering does this research work
belong?
Answer:
Answers will vary.
4. Interview an older family member (parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle) about an advance in
medicine that they remember. Why was this advance memorable to them? How did they find
out about it?
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Solution to Problems
1. Drugs are often administered in capsules (Figure 1.17). Some capsules act as containers,
which hold many smaller particles that contain the active drug. Administration of the drug is
improved by the capsule; when the capsule breaks down in the intestine, and the particles are
freed from the container, the large surface area of the drug particles allows rapid dissolution
of the drug.
a. Assume that a capsule is approximately 1 cm long and 3 mm in diameter. Calculate
the surface to volume ratio of the capsule.
b. Assume that the capsule is filled with particles that are 0.4 mm in diameter. How
many of these particles will fit into one capsule?
c. What is the total surface area of the particles within the capsule?
Answer:
Part a
r = 1.5mm, l = 7mm
SA of cylinder = (excludes the two flat sides of the cylinder)
SA of sphere =
Vol of cylinder =
Vol of cylinder =
, Chapter 1
Part b
Volume of capsule
Volume of one particle where r = 0.2mm
=
=
Number of particles =
Part c
Total SA of particles = number of particles x SA of one particle
SA of one particle =
Total SA = 1898 x 5.03x10^-1 = 9546.94
2. Using only the information provided in Figure 1.1, estimate the following:
a. Human life expectancy in the year 1250.
b. Human life expectancy in the year 2050.
Answer:
a. 27 years.
