The medical technology industry is teeming with opportunities for engineers. As mechanical engineering principles are applied to a wide array of technologies in medicines, we suggest that you complete any online mechanical engineering courses if you don’t have a bachelor’s in them. It will undoubtedly give you an upper hand in understanding biomechanics and mechanobiology (which are entirely different from each other).
Not limited to the abovementioned verticals, medical technology is vast. It includes biomedical engineering, medical image analysis and processing, radio technology, orthotics and prosthetics, organ-on-a-chip, tissue engineering, and a host of others. Go for the best master’s degree for medical technologists you can find, so you can take advantage of this golden opportunity to get into healthcare.
The global medical technology industry is projected to grow at 5% in 2022. A booming industry, by all means, it boasts medical manufacturers like Medtronics and Johnson & Johnson as having the most significant turnovers, hence the largest employers. Health technology is innovating at such a fast pace that it can edit genes with the help of CRISPR. Not only that, but mechanobiology has transformed drug delivery, and advanced biomechanics can manufacture prosthetics as good as biological limbs.
A mechanical engineer would feel right at home working in medical device manufacturing as they would be involved in making, maintaining, repairing, and innovating various medical devices. It might include diagnostic and treatment equipment, medical monitors like EEG, MRI machines, pacemakers or defibrillators, etc. Biomedical Engineers may be employed by hospitals, research laboratories and institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device manufacturers.
Several MDs and established doctors also started as engineers who completed their studies in medicine and later went on to have great careers in medicine. If you ask us, it’s never to let us do what you love.
While completing your bachelor’s and specialization in masters of medical technology, do look out for related workshops and seminars to participate in throughout your studies. An internship or research position is indispensable to gain practical experience in medical technology and an overview of what your future would be like. You also have the option to pursue a Ph.D. and publish original research in a vertical of your choice to aid in the growth of health technology.
This field will open up many research options in tissue engineering, regenerative technology, drug delivery, and a lot of cutting-edge medical developments that have changed the face of medicine as we know it. Along with in-vitro meat, artificial organs, and skin, we have seen artificial embryos created in labs.
If the growth rate of versatile and interdisciplinary applications are not enough to convince you, the satisfaction of not only improving but saving the lives of thousands of people is at the heart of what your job would be as a medical technologist. It is the best of both worlds, where you get unparalleled career growth and a good cause to stand behind.
