On the Role of the Engineer in Biomedical Instrumentation

The reprinting in this issue of the PROCEEDINGS of the NAS-NRC study of "Instrumentation in Biomedicine" gives occasion for a brief review of the reasons why effective cooperation of engineers with biomedical scientists requires close association on a full-time basis, preferably in an academic or quasi-academic organization. Similarly, the proposed national or regional "institutes for instrumentation" should have academic purposes and attributes. For these institutes to be fully effective, however, there will still be a need for engineers or physical scientists within each biomedical organization. While most engineers will become specialists to some degree, they should do so only after receiving the broadest possible training in the physical sciences.