Bioengineering

This course offers a study of image formation and how contrast, resolution, and signal to noise ratio affects image quality, including the quantitative information it may deliver and its interpretation. It explores the main aspects of imaging (resolution, contrast, and quantification) within different imaging modalities, either currently used in medical imaging or under development for future implementation. This course discusses which imaging modalities are more appropriate for a specific instance and why, based on what each imaging approach can deliver in terms of sensitivity, resolution, and quantitation.

Pre-requisites: Physics I and II. It is also very beneficial (not mandatory) to have taken Differential equations and Numerical Methods in Biomedicine 

This course is unique as it is co-organized by three faculties: Engineering, Medicine, and Science. This interdisciplinary collaboration highlights the importance of “biomimicry” and nature-inspired technologies that go beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. Students in this course benefit from a comprehensive and diverse range of knowledge, merging insights from engineering, medicine, and science. By exploring how nature inspires technological advancements, students gain interdisciplinary skills and a broader perspective. The course is structured around three themes: industrial technology, biomedical technology, and environmental technology. Throughout this course, students learn to develop innovative ideas rooted in biomimicry to address real-world problems. Working in cross-faculty groups, students collaborate to design and build solutions that leverage the principles of biomimicry. This course equips students with the tools to contribute to sustainable and innovative technologies, preparing them for the challenges of the modern world.

This course introduces the general technical/methodological requirements, problems/challenges, and application possibilities of brain-computer interfacing. Besides attending lectures, in which course participants are provided with basic relevant knowledge by local BCI researchers, students study seminal papers of recent BCI work. Further, discuss the pros and cons of different functional brain imaging methods employed for BCIs as well as ethical implications and future directions. The practical part of this course includes a demonstration of an fNIRS-BCI experiment. At a later stage of the course, students perform an fNIRS-BCI experiment themselves.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. At course completion, the student possesses knowledge on: the potential of biotechnology based genetic improvement to develop resilient cultivars suitable for sustainable agricultural systems; the molecular genetic control of the main features of agronomic interest including the response to abiotic and biotic stresses, the efficient use of water and nutrients, and host-pathogen interaction; genetic improvement methods that integrate assisted selection, phenotyping high-throughput, genetic engineering and genomic editing. In particular, the student possesses the skills to: participate in the management of genetic improvement programs aimed at varietal development in seed and nursery companies; evaluate and incorporate the appropriate biotechnological tools into genetic improvement programs; recognize and manage the positive aspects and critical issues of varietal innovation in agricultural systems, considering the entire production chain.

PREREQUISITES: The student who accesses this course must have a good knowledge of the fundamentals of mathematics, chemistry, plant biology, agronomy, crop biology and physiology, plant pathology, and the fundamentals of statistical analysis (sample, mean, variance and standard deviation). Most importantly, students must have already a clear and good knowledge of the fundamentals of Agricultural Genetics. 

The course is divided into two parts: Genetics for sustainable agriculture; and Plant breeding and biotechnology for sustainable agriculture. During and at the end of PART 1, exercises are proposed to the class, and evaluations are assigned. Students that: i) attended the course, ii) scored positively (>18) to the exercises for PART2, in the final exam will be asked to defend PART2 only.

This course is for fourth-year students in the biomedical engineering major or adjacent majors. The course includes a series of expert guest speakers who are actively conducting reearch in diverse areas of biomedical engineering. Students gain exposure to a wide range of research and research methodologies. 

This course introduces biomedical instruments and their working principles. Topics include basic concepts of medical instrumentation, basic sensors and transducers, amplifiers and signal processing, and basic physiology related to each measurement.

This course is designed for students with no prior experience of thinking in a computational manner. Students examine computational thinking as a problem-solving process with the aid of a computer, i.e. formulating a problem and expressing its solution in such a way that a computer can effectively carry it out. By the end of the course, students will be able to derive simple algorithms and code the programs to solve some basic problems in the bioengineering domain.

This is a capstone course in which students establish and complete a substantial research project in the department of biomedical engineering while working with a faculty mentor.

This course introduces the fundamentals of medical imaging and image processing techniques. This includes X-ray projection imaging, X-ray computer tomography (CT), nuclear imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasounds and ultrasonic imaging, and optical imaging.

This course examines the basic properties of biomaterials and methods so that students can manipulate them. Topics include the basic physiological consequences in relation to biomaterial implantation, and the methods for testing biomaterial compatibility. This course gives background knowledge for biomedical engineers to work in biomedical fields.