Laxminarayan, S., Bronzino, J. D., Beneken, J. E. W., Usai, S., Jones, R. D.

"Swamy Laxminarayan, Joseph D. Bronzino, Jan E. W. Beneken, Shiro Usai, Richard D. Jones"
The Biomedical Engineering Handbook: Second Edition.
Ed. Joseph D. Bronzino
Boca Raton: CRC Press LLC, 2000

APPENDIX

The Role of Professional

Societies in Biomedical
Engineering
Swamy Laxminarayan
New Jersey Institute of Technology

A.1

Joseph D. Bronzino
Trinity College/Biomedical
Engineering Alliance for
Connecticut (BEACON)

Jan E. W. Beneken
Eindhoven University of Technology

Shiro Usai
Toyohashi University of Technology

Richard D. Jones
Christchurch Hospital

Biomedical Engineering Societies in the World

American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
(AIMBE) IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology
Society (EMBS) Canadian Medical and Biological
Engineering Society European Society for Engineering in
Medicine (ESEM) French Groups for Medical and
Biological Engineering International Federation for
Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE) International
Union for Physics and Engineering Sciences in Medicine
(IUPESM) International Council of Scientific Unions
(ICSU) Biomedical Engineering Societies in Japan BME
Activities in Australia and New Zealand Bioengineering in
Latin America

A.2

Summary

Professionals have been defined as an aggregate of people finding identity in sharing values and skills
absorbed during a common course of intensive training. Parsons [1954] stated that one determines
whether or not individuals are professionals by examining whether or not they have internalized certain
given professional values. Friedson [1971] redefined Parsons definition by noting that a professional is
someone who has internalized professional values and is to be recruited and licensed on the basis of his
or her technical competence. Furthermore, he pointed out that professionals generally accept scientific
standards in their work, restrict their work activities to areas in which they are technically competent,
avoid emotional involvement, cultivate objectivity in their work, and put their clients interests before
their own.
The concept of a profession that manages technology encompasses three occupational models: science,
business, and profession. Of particular interest in the contrast between science and profession. Science
is seen as the pursuit of knowledge, its value hinging on providing evidence and communicating with
colleagues. Profession, on the other hand, is viewed as providing a service to clients who have problems
they cannot handle themselves. Science and profession have in common the exercise of some knowledge,
skill, or expertise. However, while scientists practice their skills and report their results to knowledgeable
colleagues, professionalssuch as lawyers, physicians, and engineersserve lay clients. To protect both
the professional and the client from the consequences of the laypersons lack of knowledge, the practice
of the profession is regulated through such formal institutions as state licensing. Both professionals and
scientists must persuade their clients to accept their findings. Professionals endorse and follow a specific

2000 by CRC Press LLC

code of ethics to serve society. On the other hand, scientists move their colleagues to accept their findings
through persuasion [Goodman, 1989].
Consider, for example, the medical profession. Its members are trained in caring for the sick, with the
primary goal of healing them. These professionals not only have a responsibility of the creation, development, and implementation of that tradition, they also are expected to provide a service to the public,
within limits, without regard of self-interest. To ensure proper service, the profession itself closely
monitors licensing and certification. Thus medical professionals themselves may be regarded as a mechanism of social control. However, this does not mean that other facets of society are not involved in
exercising oversight and control over physicians in their practice of medicine.
Professional Development. One can determine the status of professionalization by noting the occurrence of six crucial events: (1) the first training school, (2) the first university school, (3) the first local
professional association, (4) the first national professional association, (5) the first state license law, and
(6) the first formal code of ethics [Wilensky, 1964; Goodman, 1989; Bronzino, 1992].
The early appearances of training school and the university affiliation underscore the importance of
the cultivation of a knowledge base. The strategic innovative role of the universities and early teachers
lies in linking knowledge to practice and creating a rational for exclusive jurisdiction. Those practitioners
pushing for prescribed training then form a professional association. The association defines the task of
the profession: raising the quality of recruits, redefining their function to permit the use of less technically
skilled people to perform the more routine, less involved tasks, and managing internal and external
conflicts. In the process, internal conflict may arise between those committed to established procedures
and newcomers committed to change and innovation. At this stage, some form of professional regulation,
such as licensing or certification, surfaces because of a belief that it will ensure minimum standards for
the profession, enhance status, and protect the layperson in the process.
The latest area of professional development is the establishment of a formal code of ethics, which
usually includes rules to exclude the unqualified and unscrupulous practitioners, rules to reduce internal
competition, and rules to protect clients and emphasize the ideal service to society. A code of ethics
usually comes at the end of the professionalization process.
In biomedical engineering, all six critical steps mentioned above have been clearly taken. Therefore,
biomedical engineering is definitely a profession. It is important here to note the professional associations
across the globe that represent the interest of professionals in the field.

A.1

Biomedical Engineering Societies in the World

Globalization of biomedical engineering (BME) activities is underscored by the fact that there are several
major professional BME societies currently operational throughout the world. The various countries and
continents to have provided concerted action groups in biomedical engineering are Europe, the Americas, Canada, and the Far East, including Japan and Australia. while all these organizations share in the
common pursuit of promoting biomedical engineering, all national societies are geared to serving the
needs of their local memberships. The activities of some of the major professional organizations are
described below.

American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)

The United States has the largest biomedical engineering community in the world. Major professional
organizations that address various cross sections of the field and serve over 20,000 biomedical engineers
include (1) the American College of Clinical Engineering, (2) the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, (3) The American Medical Informatics Association, (4) the American Society of Agricultural
Engineers, (5) the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs, (6) the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers, (7) the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, (8) the Biomedical
Engineering Society, (9) the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, (10) an interdisciplinary

2000 by CRC Press LLC

Association for the Advancement of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies, (11) the Society for
Biomaterials, (12) Orthopedic Research Society, (13) American Society of Biomechanics, and (14) American Association of Physicist in Medicine. In an effort to unify all the disparate components of the
biomedical engineering community in the United States as represented by these various societies, the
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineers (AIMBE) was created in 1992. The AIMBE is the
result of a 3-year effort funded by the National Science Foundation and led by a joint steering committee
established by the Alliance of Engineering in Medicine and Biology and the U.S. National Committee on
Biomechanics. The primary goal of AIMBE is to serve as an umbrella organization for the purpose of
unifying the bioengineering community, addressing public policy issues, identifying common themes of
reflection and proposals for action, and promoting the engineering approach in societys effort to enhance
health and quality of life through the judicious use of technology [Galletti, 1994].
AIMBE serves its role through four working divisions: (1) the Council of Societies, consisting of the
11 constituent organizations mentioned above, (2) the Academic Programs Council, currently consisting
of 46 institutional charter members, (3) the Industry Council, and (4) the College Fellows. In addition
to these councils, there are four commissions, Education, Public Awareness, Public Policy, and Liaisons.
With its inception in 1992, AIMBE is a relatively young institution trying to establish its identity as an
umbrella organization for medical and biologic engineering in the United States. As summarized by two
of the founding officials of the AIMBE, Profs Nerem and Galletti:
What we are all doing, collectively, is defining a focus for biological and medical engineering. In a
society often confused by technophobic tendencies, we will try to assert what engineering can do for
biology, for medicine, for health care and for industrial development, We should be neither shy, nor
arrogant, nor self-centered. The public has great expectations from engineering and technology in
terms of their own health and welfare. They are also concerned about side effects, unpredictable
consequences and the economic costs. Many object to science for the sake of science, resent exaggerated
or empty promises of benefit to society, and are shocked by sluggish or misdirected flow from basic
research to useful applications. These issues must be addressed by the engineering and medical communities. For more information, contact the Executive Office, AIMBE, 1901 Pennsylvania Avenue,
N.W., Suite 401, Washington DC 200063405 (Tel: 2024969660; fax: 2024668489; email:
AIMBE@aol.com).

IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS)

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) is the largest international professional organization in the world and accommodates 37 different societies under its umbrella structure. Of these 37, the
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society represents the foremost international organization serving
the needs of nearly 8000 biomedical engineering members around the world. The field of interest of the
EMB Society is application of the concepts and methods of the physical and engineering sciences in biology
and medicine. Each year, the society sponsors a major international conference while cosponsoring a number
of theme-oriented regional conferences throughout the world. A growing number of EMBS chapters and
student clubs across the major cities of the world have provided the forum for enhancing local activities
through special seminars, symposia, and summer schools on biomedical engineering topics. These are
supplemented by EMBSs special initiatives that provide faculty and financial subsidies to such programs
through the societys distinguished lecturer program as well as the societys Regional Conference Committee.
Other feature achievements of the society include its premier publications in the form of three monthly
journals (Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering, and Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine) and a bi-monthly EMB Magazine (the IEEE Engineering in
Medicine and Biology Magazine). EMBS is a transnational voting member society of the International
Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering. For more information, contact the Secretariat, IEEE
EMBS, National Research Council of Canada, Room 393, Building M-55, Ottawa, Ontario K1A OR8,
Canada. (Tel: 6139934005; fax: 6139542216; email: soc.emb@ieee.org).

2000 by CRC Press LLC

Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society

The Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society (CMBES) is an association covering the fields
of biomedical engineering, clinical engineering, rehabilitation engineering, and biomechanics and biomaterials applications. CMBES is affiliated with the International Federation for Medical and Biological
Engineering and currently has 272 full members. The society organizes national medical and biological
engineering conferences annually in various cities across Canada. In addition, CMBES has sponsored
seminars and symposia on specialized topics such as communication aids, computers, and the handicapped, as well as instructional courses on topics of interest to the membership. To promote the professional
development of its members, the society as drafted guidelines on education and certification for clinical
engineers and biomedical engineering technologists and technicians. CMBES is committed to bringing
together all individuals in Canada who are engaged in interdisciplinary work involving engineering, the
life sciences, and medicine. The society communicates to its membership through the publication of a
newsletter as well as recently launched academic series to help nonengineering hospital personnel to gain
better understanding of biomedical technology. For more information, contact the Secretariat, The Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society, National Research Council of Canada, Room 393,
Building M-55, Ottawa, Ontario K1A OR8, Canada (Tel: 6139931686; fax: 6139542216).

European Society for Engineering in Medicine (ESEM)

Most European countries are affiliated organizations of the International Federation for Medical and
Biological Engineering (IFMBE). The IFMBE activities are described in another section of this chapter.
In 1992, a separate organization called the European Society for Engineering in Medicine (ESEM) was
created with the objective of providing opportunities for academic centers, research institutes, industry,
hospitals and other health care organizations, and various national and international societies to interact
and jointly explore BME issues of European significance. These include (1) research and development,
(2) education and training, (3) communication between and among industry, health care providers, and
policymakers, (4) European policy on technology and health care, and (5) collaboration between eastern
European countries in transition and the western European countries on health care technology, delivery,
and management. To reflect this goal the ESEM membership constitutes representation of all relevant
disciplines from all European countries while maintaining active relations with the Commission of the
European Community and other supranational bodies and organizations.
The major promotional strategies of the ESEMs scientific contributions include its quarterly journal
Technology and Health Care, ESEM News, the Societys Newsletter, a biennial European Conference on
Engineering and Medicine, and various topic-oriented workshops and courses. ESEM offers two classes
of membership: the regular individual (active or student) membership and an associate grade. The latter
is granted to those scientific and industrial organizations which satisfy the society guidelines and subject
to approval by the Membership and Industrial Committees. The society is administered by an Administrative Council consisting of 13 members elected by the general membership. For more information,
contact the Secretary General, European Society for Engineering in Medicine, Institut fr Biomedizinische
Technik, Seidenstrasse 36, D-70174 Stuttgart, Germany. (Fax: 7111212371

French Groups for Medical and Biological Engineering

The French National Federation of Bioengineering (Genie Biologique et Medical, GMB) is a multidisciplinary body aimed at developing methods and processes and new biomedical materials in various fields
covering prognosis, diagnosis, therapeutics, and rehabilitation. These goals are achieved through the
creation of 10 regional centers of bioengineering, called the poles. The poles are directly involved at all
levels, from applied research through the industrialization to the marketing of the product. Some of the
actions pursued by these poles include providing financial seed support for innovative biomedical engineering projects, providing technological help, advice, and assistance, developing partnerships among

2000 by CRC Press LLC

universities and industries, and organizing special seminars and conferences. The information dissemination of all scientific progress is done through the Journal of Innovation and Technology in Biology and
Medicine. For more information, contact the French National Federation of Bioengineering, Coordinateur
de la Federation Francaise des Poles GBM, Pole GBM Aquitaine-Site Bordeaux-Montesquieu, Centre de
Resources, 33651 Martillac Cedex, France.

International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE)

Established in 1959, the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE) is an
organization made up from an affiliation of national societies including membership of transnational
organizations. The current national affiliates are Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria,
Canada, China, Cuba, Cyprus, Slovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel,
Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand,
United Kingdom, and the United States. The first transnational organization to become a member of the
federation is the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. At the present time, the federation
has an estimated 25,000 members from all of its constituent societies.
The primary goal of the IFMBE is to recognize the interests and initiatives of its affiliated member
organizations and to provide an international forum for the exchange of ideas and dissemination of
information. The major IFMBE activities include the publication of the federations bimonthly journal,
the Journal of Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing, the MBEC News, establishment of close
liaisons with developing countries to encourage and promote BME activities, and the organization of a
major world conference every 3 years in collaboration with the International Organization for Medical
Physics and the International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine. The IFMBE also
serves as a consultant to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and has nongovernmental organization status with the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and the Economic
Commission for Europe. For more information, contact the Secretary General, International Federation
for Medical and Biological Engineering, AMC, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 15, 1105 AZ
Amsterdam, the Netherlands. (Tel: 205665200, ext. 5179; fax 206917233; email: ifmbe@amc.uva.nl)

International Union for Physics and Engineering Sciences

in Medicine (IUPESM)
The IUPESM resulted from the IFMBEs collaboration with the International Organization of Medical
Physics (IOMP), culminating into the joint organization of the triennial World Congress on Medical
Physics and Biomedical Engineering. Traditionally, these two organizations held their conferences back
to back from each other for a number of years. Since both organizations were involved in the research,
development, and utilization of medical devices, they were combined to form IUPESM. Consequently,
all members of the IFMBEs national and transnational societies are also automatically members of the
IUPESM. The statutes of the IUPESM have been recently changed to allow other organizations to become
members in addition to the founding members, the IOMP and the IFMBE.

International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU)

The International Council of Scientific Unions is nongovernmental organization created to promote international scientific activity in the various scientific branches and their applications for the benefit of humanity. ICSU has two categories of membership: scientific academies or research councils, which are national,
multidisciplinary bodies, and scientific unions, which are international disciplinary organizations. Currently,
there are 92 members in the first category and 23 in the second. ICSU maintains close working relations
with a number of intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, in particular with UNESCO. In
the past, a number of international programs have been launched and are being run in cooperation with
UNESCO. ICSU is particularly involved in serving the interests of developing countries.

2000 by CRC Press LLC

Membership in the ICSU implies recognition of the particular field of activity as a field of science.
Although ICSU is heralded as a body of pure scientific unions to the exclusion of cross and multidisciplinary organizations and those of an engineering nature, IUPESM, attained its associate membership
in the ICSU in the mid-1980s. The various other international scientific unions that are members of the
ICSU include the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB), the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS), the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO), and
the International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB). The IEEE is an affiliated commission
of the IUPAB and is represented through the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society [ICSU Year
Book, 1994]. For more information, contact the Secretariat, International Council of Scientific Unions,
51 Boulevard de Montmorency, 75016 Paris, France. (Tel: 145250329; fax: 142889431; email:
icsu@paris7.jussieu.fr)

Biomedical Engineering Societies in Japan

The biomedical engineering activities in Japan are promoted through several major organizations: (1) the
Japan Society of Medical Electronics and Biological Engineering (JSMEBE), (2) the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineering (IEICE), (3) the Institute of Electrical Engineers of
Japan (IEEJ), (4) the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers (SICE), (5) the Society of Biomechanisms of Japan (SBJ), (6) the Japanese Neural network Society (JNNS), (7) Japan Ergonomics Research
Society (JERS), and (8) the Japan Society of Ultrasonics in Medicine (JSUM). The various special sister
societies that are affiliated under the auspicies of these organizations mainly focus on medical electronics,
biocybernetics, neurocomputing, medical and biologic engineering, color media and vision system, and
biologic and physiologic engineering. The JSMEBE has the most BME concentration, with two conferences held each year in biomedic engineering and three international journals that publish original peerreviewed papers. The IEICE, which is now 77 years old, is one of the largest international societies,
constituting about 40,000 members. The aim of the society is to provide a forum for the exchange of
knowledge on the science and technology of electronics, information, and communications and the
development of appropriate industry in these fields.

BME Activities in Australia and New Zealand

The BME activities in Australia and New Zealand are served by one transnational organization called
the Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine (ACPSEM) covering Australia
and New Zealand and a national organization called the College of Biomedical Engineers of the Institute
of Engineers, (CBEIE) serving the Australian member segment.
The Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine was founded in 1977 and
comprises 6 branches and 339 members. The membership is made up of 76% from Australia, 17% from
New Zealand, and the rest from overseas. A majority of members are employed in pubic hospitals, with
most of these in departments of medical physics and clinical engineering. The primary objectives of the
college are (1) to promote and further the development of the physical sciences and engineering in
medicine and to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas among members of the college and
others concerned with medicine and related subjects and (2) to promote and encourage education and
training in the physical sciences and engineering in medicine. Entry to ordinary membership of the
college requires applicants to have an appropriate 4-year bachelor's degree and at least 5 years of experience as a physical scientist or engineer in a hospital or other approved institution.

Bioengineering in Latin America

Latin American countries have demonstrated in the past decade significant growth in their bioengineering
activities. In terms of IEEE statistics, Latin America has the fastest growing membership rate. Currently,
there are over 10,000 IEEE members alone in this region, of which about 300 are members of the
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. In an effort to stimulate this growth and promote active

2000 by CRC Press LLC

international interactions, the presidents of the IEEE, EMBS, and the IFMBE met with representatives
of biomedical engineering societies from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, and Mexico in 1991 [Robinson, 1991]. This meeting resulted in the formation of an independent Latin American Regional Council
of Biomedical Engineering, known by its spanish and portugese acronym as CORAL (Consejo Regional
de Ingenieria Biomedica para Americana Latina). Both the EMBS and the IFMBE are the founding
sponsoring members of the CORAL. The main objectives of CORAL are (1) to foster, promote and
encourage the development of research, student programs, publications, professional activities, and joint
efforts and (2) to act as a communication channel for national societies within Latin American region
and to improve communication between societies, laboratories, hospitals, industries, universities, and
other groups in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since its inception, CORAL has already provided the
centerpiece for bioengineering activities in Latin America through special concerted scientific meetings
and closer society interactions both in a national and international sense. For more information, contact
the Secretary General, CORAL, Centro Investigacion y de Estudios, Avanzados Duel Ipn, Departamento
Ingenieria Electrica, Seccion Bioelectronica, Av. Instituto Politecnico Nacional 2508, Esg. Av. Ticoman
07000, Mexico Apartado Postal 14740, Mexico.

A.2

Summary

The field of biomedical engineering, which originated as a professional group on medical electronics in
the late fifties, has grown from a few scattered individuals to very well-established organization. There
are approximately 50 national societies throughout the world serving an increasingly growing community
of biomedical engineers. The scope of biomedical engineering today is enormously diverse. Over the
years, many new disciplines such as molecular biology, genetic engineering, computer-aided drug design,
nanotechnology, and so on, which were once considered alien to the field, are now new challenges a
biomedical engineer faces. Professional societies play a major role in bringing together members of this
diverse community in pursuit of technology applications for improving the health and quality of life of
human beings. Intersocietal cooperations and collaborations, both at national and international levels,
are more actively fostered today through professional organizations such as the IFMBE, AIMBE, CORAL,
and the IEEE. These developments are strategic to the advancement of the professional status of biomedical engineers. Some of the self-imposed mandates the professional societies should continue to
pursue include promoting public awareness, addressing public policy issues that impact research and
development of biologic and medical products, establishing close liaisons with developing countries,
encouraging educational programs for developing scientific and technical expertise in medical and
biologic engineering, providing a management paradigm that ensures efficiency and economy of health
care technology [Wald, 1993], and participating in the development of new job opportunities for biomedical engineers.

References
Fard TB. 1994. International Council of Scientific Unions Year Book, Paris, ICSU.
Friedson E. 1971. Profession of Medicine. New York, Dodd, Mead.
Galletti PM, Nerem RM. 1994. The Role of Bioengineering in Biotechnology. AIMBE Third Annual Event.
Goodman G. 1989. The profession of clinical engineering. J Clin Eng 14:27.
Parsons T. 1954. Essays in Sociological Theories. Glencoe, Ill, Free Press.
Robinson CR. 1991. Presidents column. IEEE Eng Med Bio Mag.
Wald A. 1993. Health care: Reform and technology (editors note). IEEE Eng Med Bio Mag 12:3.

2000 by CRC Press LLC