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What if you could go to work each morning knowing that
your efforts would help people lead healthier and longer
lives? That is the feeling that the individuals working
in the healthcare industry experience every day. Innovative
medical devices, and more efficient and effective drugs
and drug delivery systems translate directly into faster
recoveries, less pain, and greater freedom for patients.
Additionally, innovations in medical equipment and drug
development technologies provide physicians and other
healthcare providers with the tools and treatment options
that allow them to better care for their patients. The
importance of engineering and the key role of engineers
in bringing those improvements and innovations to the
people who need them can hardly be overstated.
The healthcare industry is a large, global, and incredibly competitive
arena. In truth, it's really three industries in one.
First, there is the pharmaceutical industry, which both
competes with and is in partnership with the younger but
equally innovative biotechnology industry. Biotechnology
- commonly called biotech - is where technology and biology
intersect to utilize biological systems to create or improve
products. As an industry, it came of age relatively recently,
with breakthroughs such as the engineering of recombinant
DNA in 1973 and the introduction of the industry's first
fully achieved product - human insulin - in 1983. In the
years following and right up until today, biotech has
changed the face of healthcare (and, indeed, the world)
time and time again with innovations in forensics, genetic
testing, and cloning.
The third industry, and in many ways the center of
engineering in the healthcare industry, is the medical
device industry. This industry has improved diagnostics
and patient care with products like MRI machines, artificial
joints, and stents, and has also made many breakthroughs
with combination pharmaceutical and device products.
The healthcare industry is constantly pushing the scientific
envelope and expanding the scope of the world's medical
knowledge and abilities. We can only try to imagine
what dramatic changes will result from the research
and development being done right now, but we do know
that engineers will find a vibrant and exciting future
throughout the healthcare industry in areas such as
R&D, product and facility design, manufacturing,
quality assurance, and much more. The development of
an idea into a viable, reliable, and accessible product
can be a complex process - but to see a new idea or
product become a reality and know that it will change
countless lives for the better is incredibly satisfying.
This module should give you an idea of trends in the industry,
who the key players are, and how you can get started on a path
to a promising and fulfilling career.
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Healthcare: Pharmaceuticals, Biotech and Medical Devices
Industries
