The Emerging Field of Clinical Engineering and Its Accomplishments

Clinical engineering has emerged during the past 20 years as a specialty area to apply the knowledge produced by biomedical engineering research. The clinical engineer is a member of the health care team in a clinical environment and interfaces with physicians, nurses, and allied health care personnel. The role of clinical engineering also includes management, information systems, and health care delivery systems. A survey was performed, and the results of the questionnaire identified the primary contributions of clinical engineering to be as follows: provide technical advice, expertise, and educational services; provide electrical safety programs; provide consultation to resolve and investigate equipment malfunctions or failures; and provide for the centralized management and maintenance of medical instrumentation and equipment. The role of clnical engineering is expanding as the use of advanced technology increases in health care delivery.