Main description:

Can technology and innovation transform world health? Connecting undergraduate students with global problems, Rebecca Richards-Kortum examines the interplay between biomedical technology design and the medical, regulatory, economic, social and ethical issues surrounding global health. Driven by case studies, including cancer screening, imaging technologies, implantable devices and vaccines, students learn how the complexities and variation across the globe affect the design of devices and therapies. A wealth of learning features, including classroom activities, project assignments, homework problems and weblinks within the book and online, provide a full teaching package. For visionary general science and biomedical engineering courses, this book will inspire students to engage in solving global issues that face us all.

Contents:

Preface; 1. Emerging medical technologies: high stakes science and the need for technology assessment; 2. Bioengineering and technology assessment; 3. Health and economic data: a global comparison; 4. World health and global health challenges; 5. Healthcare systems: a global comparison; 6. Healthcare costs vs time: trends and drivers; 7. The evolution of technology: scientific method, engineering design, and translational research; 8. Prevention of infectious disease; 9. Ethics of clinical research; 10. Technologies for early detection and prevention of cancer; 11. Cost-effectiveness of screening for disease; 12. Technologies for treatment of heart disease; 13. Clinical trial design and sample size calculation; 14. Technology diffusion; 15. Regulation of health care technologies; 16. Future of bioengineering and world health; Index.