A Companion to the Philosophy of Technology

Chapter 67

Biomedical Engineering Ethics

PHILIP BREY

Biomedical engineering is the application of engineering principles and techniques to medicine. It combines expertise in engineering with expertise in medicine and human biology to develop technologies and techniques for healthcare and patient care. Biomedical engineering emerged as a field after the Second World War and has expanded ever since. As a field, it is very broad, with applications ranging from molecular imaging to the construction of artificial hearts. Biomedical engineering is, however, narrower in scope than bioengineering, or biological engineering, with which it is sometimes equated. Bioengineering focuses on the engineering of biological processes and systems in general, and includes not only biomedical engineering but also agricultural engineering, food engineering and biotechnology.

In part because biomedical engineering it itself a new field, there is currently no distinct academic field of biomedical engineering ethics. Ethical issues in biomedical engineering are currently studied in the fields of bioethics, medical ethics and engineering ethics. Yet professional ethical issues in biomedical engineering are often different from the ones traditionally discussed in these fields. Biomedical engineers differ from medical practitioners, and are similar to other engineers, in that they are involved in research for and development of new technology, and do not engage in the study, diagnosis and treatment of patients. ...