KU Leuven

Master of Biomedical Engineering

Technology in contemporary medicine has evolved to where computers and other high-tech devices are essential in hospitals, rehabilitation centres and private medical practices. The Master in Biomedical Engineering was created to respond to the increased technological needs in healthcare to provide more and better care with fewer people and to obtain cost-effectiveness in our healthcare systems.

About this Programme

In this master's programme you will learn to design and produce biomedical-technological products and/or biomedical information-processing services. To this end, an additional basis is laid for medical subjects about the functioning of our organism. The knowledge of the basic technological subjects is then combined with these basic medical subjects in speciality subjects that cover the whole range of new developments in medical technology: biomechanics, medical image processing, biomaterials, processing of medical signals, tissue engineering, robotic surgery, bioinformatics, business management in medical technology, ... The biomedical engineer thus becomes an integrator par excellence, who applies his engineering activities in the biomedical industry, hospitals, health care and government.

The common core of this programme builds further on basic medical knowledge (covering human cell biology, anatomy and physiology) and fundamentals in engineering science taught in the bachelor in biomedical engineering and covering fundamentals in medical technology such as tissue biomechanics and modelling in tissue physiology.

This core provides a comprehensive view of advanced contemporary fields in biomedical engineering, covering biomedical imaging, data processing, bio instrumentation, multiphysics, biofluid mechanics, bioinformatics as well as medical equipment and regulatory affairs. In addition, the core programme offers contemporary practices and research-based learning including research training in medical technology and a master's thesis.

Program Strengths

• The program responds to the increased technological needs in healthcare. These needs result, among others, from the ageing population, the challenge to provide more and better care with fewer people,e and the challenge to obtain cost-effectiveness in our healthcare system.
• It aims to deliver interdisciplinary-trained biomedical engineers who can act as integrators between medical and technological specialists by understanding medical needs and translating them into engineering requirements. Conversely, these biomedical engineers can design and produce medical devices and procedures that can effectively solve problems through their integration into clinical practice.
• The curriculum builds on cutting-edge research conducted by an internationally renowned teaching staff spread across several departments and leading strong research groups in the field of biomedical engineering. Their strong ties with the nearby university hospital UZ Leuven and the biomedical engineering sector are a major asset to the master’s program.
• At the Faculty of Engineering Science, students are given the opportunity to complete one or two semesters of their degree within the Erasmus+ program at a European university, or a university outside Europe. Students are also encouraged to carry out industrial and research internships abroad under the supervision of the Internship Coordinator. This gives this program a truly international dimension.