Importance of Biomedical Engineering in Pakistan

The 21^st century is technically called the Biological Century. World is changing globally step by step and the modern era is having the application of engineering in almost every field of science especially biological science. More technological advancement in the medical and industrial area is predictable with heavily funded research programs ongoing in most countries of the world. Development in the field of biology and medicine, such as human genome sequencing and research to create cell and organ functions, have lead to a serious change in many industrial segments and strengthened the medical engineering profession. Although the conventional areas of engineering and other technology innovations will continue, more new opportunities will come up in Biomedical Engineering and in the field of biology, medicine, health and delivery of healthcare. The Biomedical age is still in the embryonic stage, rising steadily as we proceed to develop the field of Biomedical Engineering.

Pakistan, like many other developing countries, is facing tribulations in health care deliver. The health system in Pakistan is currently going through several reforms at the federal, provincial and district level particularly to improve the delivery of health service to the population.  Although, our nation’s health care providers – surgeons, physicians, nurses, and others work hard to provide life-saving and life-improving care to millions of Pakistanis but, the level of quality and efficiency of care varies significantly across the country. Good health as people know from their own experience is a critical part of well-being. With growing healthcare awareness, increase in population and greater affordability for optimized healthcare, the need for qualified Biomedical Engineering professionals is increased in Pakistan therefore; the suitable and applicable structure is required to bridge the gap between medical technology and patient care. Currently, the status of Biomedical Engineering in Pakistan is far from satisfactory. Federal and Provincial government should make some policies to introduce Biomedical Engineering departments in hospitals and other healthcare centers. Biomedical Engineers can play a key role in the delivery of healthcare both in private and government sectors.

In Pakistan, Biomedical Engineers must be employed in universities, industry, hospitals, research centers for education and medical institutions, teaching and government regulatory agencies. Biomedical Engineers must be employed in government positions for product testing and safety, besides establishing safety standards for devices. In hospitals environment, Biomedical Engineers can provide recommendation and supervision in the selection of medical equipment and they can also manage the performance of the equipments on a continuous basis. A well establish hospital cannot offer quality of healthcare without having Biomedical Engineering department, particularly hospital that is involve into secondary and tertiary care, because such hospitals are full of medical equipments, instruments, devices, and machinery that can be operated, calibrated and maintained by Biomedical Engineers through appropriate and skilled manners.

Consequently, Biomedical Engineering has a huge impact on the world we live in today. There are now an array of medical devices and machines that can both improve health and save lives. Indeed, medical care will be strongly influenced by the revolutionary changes brought about by Biomedical age in term of quality, technology, cost, and life style specially in developing countries like Pakistan. Medical care in the Biomedical age will flexibly meet individual, diversified, and comprehensive needs. Biomedical Engineering must adjoin with doctors and healthcare providers in Pakistan for better health.

Importance of Biomedical Engineering in Pakistan | Technology Times

Women in ICT: Myth and reality in developing regions

Women in ICT: Myth and reality in developing regions | The News Tribe Blogs

Nowadays it is well-known that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can give new opportunities for development to everybody. Yet, lack of access to them in developing countries create difficulties to people for individual and social advancement as well. Women in developing regions occupy the highest level of the digital gender divide because of huge responsibilities for their families and kids at home that causes challenges for them in education, employment, participation in governance and business. Women have always had important role in educating our young children and developing our societies it is obvious that empowering them with new tools and values will surely help them contribute to the competitiveness of our economies and to building new generation which can fully understand the new challenges of the technological world of the developing regions. Needless to say that today there are many barriers to women’s access to ICT especially in developing regions because ICT is considered by the majority of people as a primarily male industry. Women are underrepresented among ICT users and very rarely work as developers.  In some countries cultural norms and even concerns over personal safety may make it difficult for women to attend training courses.

Over the last twenty years many intervention programmes have been implemented to increase the number of women in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) profession. In 1995, the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (UNCSTD) recognized the growing influence of ICT in development and the importance of women’s participation in discussions regarding its integration globally. To that end, they established a Gender Working Group to address the significant gender issues from access to control. The United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UN ICT Task Force Secretariat released a report in 2002 that focused on ICTs as tool to advance and empower women. When the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was established, a Gender Caucus was created to ensure women had a seat at the table and a voice in the room. The research showed that in developing countries women enjoy fewer benefits from ICTs than men, it is also found that gender-based obligations, societal biases, and even physical strength can restrict women’s ability to learn about or use of new technologies. i.e;

·         Women are responsible for running households, they are less mobile and have less free time than men, and therefore cannot easily take advantage of training and other resources;

·         Male students discourage female students from accessing computers in labs by pushing them out of line;

·         ICT use can shift family dynamics and the balance of power, causing conflict in the home which can lead to arguments, violence, divorce, and even death;

·         Women often feel uncomfortable or annoying when visiting internet cafes on their own.

Women in developed countries are using ICT to expand their mission, drive their passion to improve the world form the grass roots. There is a growing reality that women’s engagement in ICTs is important for multiple forms of development, including social and political justice as well as economical development. However presently, the ICT sector does not take full advantage of female talent in developing countries. This is bad for the sector and bad for those women who could create new opportunities for themselves and their families with the ICT jobs that deliver better salaries and career paths than most other sectors. Despite the obvious benefits, many women never consider a career in ICTs particularly in developing countries because there is a lack of awareness among students, teachers and parents on what a career in ICT could offer.

Telehealth solution for developing countries

Telehealth solution for developing countries | The News Tribe Blogs

"In 1994, a multi-disciplinary group of young professional from 24 different countries gathered and wrote a visionary report entitled, “Global Access Telehealth and Education System” (GATES). This report detailed how to utilize information and communication technology (ICT) to provide health and education services to the entire world, in particular developing countries. Developing countries face various problems in the provision of medical service and health-care. Many developing countries have inadequate health-care and medical services and they also suffer from shortage of doctors and health-care professionals. Telehealth is a relatively newer concept as far as most of the developing countries are concerned".

BioMedical engineering: Delivery challenges in developing countries

BioMedical engineering: Delivery challenges in developing countries | The News Tribe Blogs

BioMedical engineering (BME) is a multidisciplinary field that spans interdisciplinary boundaries and connects the engineering and physical sciences to the biological sciences and medicine in a multidisciplinary setting, to develop or apply new technologies in patient oriented research and clinical healthcare. 

Health for all: e-health in Pakistan perspective | The News Tribe Blogs

Health for all: e-health in Pakistan perspective | The News Tribe Blogs