research.overview
Duke BME faculty are engaged in a wide range of efforts to improve human health through research–from creating the world's first real-time, three-dimensional ultrasound diagnostic system to developing the first engineered blood vessels.
The department's close proximity to the renowned Duke University Medical Center has fostered a highly interdisciplinary approach to research, with engineers working closely with both biological scientists and physicians. This breadth of expertise is reflected in all our research programs, as we work to translate fundamental advances across the molecular, cellular, and organ scales into new developments for improved diagnosis and treatment of disease.
Check out the "Faculty Collaboration" video at "DukeBME on Camera" to find out more about the BME faculty research and collaboration.
Major research programs include:
- Biomechanics, focusing on orthopaedic biomechanics, other soft tissue mechanics, and cell mechanics
- Biomolecular and Tissue Engineering, including biomolecular engineering, effect of physical force on cells and tissues, and tissue repair and replacement
- Electrobiology and Neural Engineering, focusing understanding the electrical activity of the heart and nervous system, and on ways of controlling or using them to develop treatments for dysfunction.
- Biomedical Imaging, concentrating on ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, x-ray, and nuclear medicine
Duke BME is building on its strengths in these core concentrations to develop collaborative programs in biophotonics, cardiovascular engineering, and therapeutic bioengineering.
Biophotonics–the intersection of optics, electronics, and biology-focuses on the development of novel sensors and imaging techniques, including advanced genetic imaging techniques, that can be used to characterize living systems at the cellular and molecular levels.
Duke is also expanding its leadership in cardiovascular engineering. Home to the first NSF Engineering Research Center in biomedical engineering–the Center for Emerging Cardiovascular Technologies–Duke BME also enjoys a strong relationship with one of the top-ranked cardiology programs in the country.
Duke BME also plans to bring its experience in tissue engineering and tissue characterization, drug and gene delivery, and transport processes to a new program in therapeutic bioengineering–engineering new and better ways to deliver therapies.
Both undergraduate and graduate students conduct research in these areas under the guidance of Duke BME faculty researchers, who include many winners of prestigious scientific awards and fellows of respected societies. In one of the clearest hallmarks of faculty excellence, sponsored research at Duke BME from both federal and non-federal sources has grown more than 60 percent over the past five years.
BME Research News
August 28, 2008
DURHAM, N.C. – An ultrasound probe small enough to ride along at the tip of a catheter can provide physicians with clearer real-time images of soft tissue without the risks associated with conventional x-ray catheter guidance.Duke University biomedical engineers designed and fabricated the novel ultrasound probe which is powerful enough to provide detailed, 3-D images. The new device works like an insect's compound eye, blending images from 108 miniature transducers working together.
Catheter-based procedures involve snaking ...
August 28, 2008
DURHAM, N.C. – An ultrasound probe small enough to ride along at the tip of a catheter can provide physicians with clearer real-time images of soft tissue without the risks associated with conventional x-ray catheter guidance.Duke University biomedical engineers designed and fabricated the novel ultrasound probe which is powerful enough to provide detailed, 3-D images. The new device works like an insect's compound eye, blending images from 108 miniature transducers working together.
Catheter-based procedures involve snaking ...
June 19, 2008
Residence hall/laboratory receives state's first platinum LEED rating
DURHAM, NC -- The Home Depot Smart Home at Duke University, a 10-person student residence hall for green living and learning, has achieved a top-level platinum standard for its design from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system. The building becomes the first in North Carolina to achieve that standard.
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
The 6,000-square foot-residence, designed by students and advisers, earned 59 ...
May 20, 2008
Five Question Interview with Nenad Bursac
Nenad Bursac is an assistant professor in biomedical engineering who works with stem cells, tissue engineering and biomaterials to find a way to patch and repair the damage created by a heart attack.
Q - How did you get from electrical engineering to heart muscles?
I was always fascinated by the heart as an extremely complex and powerful, and yet delicate, organ. The heart is both an electrical and mechanical ...
April 24, 2008
DURHAM, N.C. – Using 3-D ultrasound technology they designed, Duke University bioengineers can compensate for the thickness and unevenness of the skull to see in real-time the arteries within the brain that most often clog up and cause strokes.
The researchers believe that these advances will ultimately improve the treatment of stroke patients, whether by giving emergency medical technicians (EMT) the ability to quickly scan the heads of potential stroke victims while in the ambulance or ...
April 21, 2008
Two years after receiving prestigious fellowships designed to support women scientists, three Pratt graduate students are well into their research with such diverse projects as brain-computer interfaces, nanoparticle exposures and a new method for breast cancer screening.
In 2006, Katie Hedlund, Christine Robichaud and Christina Shafer were named Clare Boothe Luce Fellows. The fellowship program is the largest such private program for women studying science, mathematics or engineering. More than 1,500 women scientists have received support ...
April 17, 2008
SPIE, the international society for the science and application of light, has elected Duke biomedical engineering professor Joseph Izatt a fellow of the society. This year SPIE chose only 72 new fellows worldwide.
Fellows are members of distinction who have made significant scientific and technical contributions in the multidisciplinary fields of optics, photonics, and imaging. They are honored for their technical achievement, for their service to the general optics
community, and to SPIE in particular. More than ...
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