《生命科学》 2009, 21(2): 212-215
摘 要：摘 要：“生物医学工程”这个词汇蕴含了三个专业领域的相互影响：生物学(最广义的范围讲是基于物理学和化学的一门基础科学)、医学(治疗疾病的科学)和工程学(设计及建造对人类有用的物品的科学)。在20世纪50年代中期，我被任命组建一个实验室，这个实验室需要结合这三大学科，并致力于听觉研究。在过去的50年中，我们的实验室(由麻省理工大学、哈佛大学、麻省总医院及麻省眼耳医院共同管理)树立了一个优秀的范例，证明虽然有一些实际的困难，科学家、临床医师和工程师们仍然可以很好地合作。我们的经验之一是，往往一些最成功的发现是基于对基本科学知识的发展，而不是来源于对特定临床需要的靶向性研究。然而，“研究与发展”常常需要有技术创新教育背景，并能与数个领域的专家充分交流的特殊工作人员。因此，在目前这个环境与社会问题需要传统意义上非生物医学工程领域的技术专家的时代，生物医学工程师的培养问题及资源应如何在发达国家与发展中国家之间分配的问题的探讨，都具有十分重要的现实意义。
关键词：生物医学工程；电子耳蜗；耳聋
Abstract: Abstract: The term biomedical engineering implies the interaction of three professions: biology (a basic science that in its broadest sense draws upon physics and chemistry)， medicine (the care of the sick)， and engineering (the design and construction of things useful to humans). In the mid-1950s I was asked to start a laboratory that would combine these three disciplines， focused on the study of hearing. Over the past five decades， this laboratory (jointly operated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology， Harvard University， the Massachusetts General Hospital， and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary) can provide some specific examples of how scientists， clinicians， and engineers can work together despite certain practical difficulties. One of the lessons is that some of the most successful applications developed out of esoteric basic knowledge rather than research targeting identified clinical needs. Nevertheless， R and D (Research and Development) often requires a special kind of person with training in the art of technical innovation， who can communicate easily with specialists in a number of fields. Thus， issues concerning the education of biomedical engineers and how to allocate resources in developed and developing countries are most relevant in an era when environmental and social problems require technical expertise in areas not traditionally regarded as within the province of biomedical engineering.
Key words: biomedical engineering; cochlear implant; deafness
