Narrowing down a degree path

[No Subject]

So, been a long time lurker on these forums but never signed up and posted anything until now and I am need of some advice. Anyways I am kind of at an impasse when it comes to choosing something to study. I know what I want to do but not sure which degree field would be best. I guess I should first start by telling you where these thoughts are coming to better explain what I mean.

 

I'm currently in the US Air Force as an avionics maintainer on fighter jets and am about to reach my end of enlistment(signed up at 18 and did 4 years). So college will be my next step after I am done with that. Basically what I want to do is something with prosthetics. Being in the military I have sadly seen a few friends come back with missing limbs and received prosthetics to compensate. But the prosthetic is still something that is just attached to their body and doesn't actually interface with his or her body/thoughts. That's sort of what I want to do; creating/developing a way for the body to talk to the machine by just thinking it and also creating the prosthetics that would utilize that technology. I know that sounds very far fetched but seeing some of the technology out(in some situations where it already exists) makes me think otherwise.

 

My question is what type of degree would best fit that type of study? I know there is no clear cut degree out there for that but I am trying to narrow it down. Obviously there are prosthetist/orthotist degrees but I'm not sure that exactly what I need. It might be good if you are looking at it from a development point of view(creating better prosthetics). But what about a neurology degree for the interaction between the brain and the machine. Also something in biology/medical for the interface between the body and the prosthetic.

 

As you can see I am kind of at a loss in which path to choose and was wondering if anyone out there might shed some light on my situation.

 

thx for reading!

[CaptainPanic]

What you must realize is that the development of a prosthetic is definitely a team effort. It's unlikely that you can do it by yourself.

 

I'll add a disclaimer that I'm no expert, but some ideas spring to mind.

 

- You're gonna need a neurologist. Someone who started by studying medicine, and specialized in the nervous system of humans. Perhaps also an orthopedist (also a doctor).

- You're gonna need a mechanical engineer, to build the actual prosthetic. An industrial design degree (also an engineering degree) can perhaps also be helpful.

- You're gonna need an IT engineer to program whatever processors are in there translating the signals from the human to the prosthetic.

Typically, teams will be even more broad than that. Hell, you might even study management (not recommended as far as I'm concerned).

 

The main message therefore that I'd like to give you is that you have a lot of options to choose a study. The most important is not the right study (although it helps), but the right motivation during and after the study. You must not give up if you cannot find a job in your field immediately. Make sure that you learn relevant things, and keep trying.

Edited March 22, 2011 by CaptainPanic

[Djordje]

Impossible to be done on your own - but if you want to be the one that actually invents/discovers solutions and products new ideas then neurologist and orthopedist just as CaptainPanic said.

[DrRocket]

So, been a long time lurker on these forums but never signed up and posted anything until now and I am need of some advice. Anyways I am kind of at an impasse when it comes to choosing something to study. I know what I want to do but not sure which degree field would be best. I guess I should first start by telling you where these thoughts are coming to better explain what I mean.

 

I'm currently in the US Air Force as an avionics maintainer on fighter jets and am about to reach my end of enlistment(signed up at 18 and did 4 years). So college will be my next step after I am done with that. Basically what I want to do is something with prosthetics. Being in the military I have sadly seen a few friends come back with missing limbs and received prosthetics to compensate. But the prosthetic is still something that is just attached to their body and doesn't actually interface with his or her body/thoughts. That's sort of what I want to do; creating/developing a way for the body to talk to the machine by just thinking it and also creating the prosthetics that would utilize that technology. I know that sounds very far fetched but seeing some of the technology out(in some situations where it already exists) makes me think otherwise.

 

My question is what type of degree would best fit that type of study? I know there is no clear cut degree out there for that but I am trying to narrow it down. Obviously there are prosthetist/orthotist degrees but I'm not sure that exactly what I need. It might be good if you are looking at it from a development point of view(creating better prosthetics). But what about a neurology degree for the interaction between the brain and the machine. Also something in biology/medical for the interface between the body and the prosthetic.

 

As you can see I am kind of at a loss in which path to choose and was wondering if anyone out there might shed some light on my situation.

 

thx for reading!

 

Your interests are tailor-made for biomedical engineering. There are even programs that can result in q combined MD/PhD.

[CaptainPanic]

Impossible to be done on your own - but if you want to be the one that actually invents/discovers solutions and products new ideas then neurologist and orthopedist just as CaptainPanic said.

Not entirely true. The doctors will be discovering how nerves work and in general how the body works. They are the most likely to win some kind of science prize, and publish an article.

But it will ultimately (and always) be engineers who get stuff to actually work properly, and to get it sold/given to a larger group of customers/patients. And it's therefore the engineers who I would call the inventors of new products.

 

Anyway, I'm being pedantic (and completely biased, being an engineer myself)

[imatfaal]

I knew someone who designed prosthetics - he was both a mecheng (to Doctoral level) AND MBChB, so he covered both bases. And per DocRock - Cambridge in the UK offer joint MbChB/PhD programmes and I am sure they are not alone

[Blahah]

Yeah, biomedical engineering as DrRocket suggested, or biomechatronics. Robotics would also be a good route as you will learn engineering, electrical engineering and computer science targeted towards robotic solutions.

 

from the Wikipedia page for biomechatronics:

"Biomechatronics is a rapidly growing field but as of now there are very few labs which conduct research. The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, University of California at Berkley, MIT, and University of Twente in the Netherlands are the researching leaders in biomechatronics. Three main areas are emphasized in the current research.

• Analyzing human motions, which are complex, to aid in the design of biomechatronic devices
• Studying how electronic devices can be interfaced with the nervous system.
• Testing the ways to use living muscle tissue as actuators for electronic devices"

Given that you already have electronics experience, and given your motivation, you might find that bypassing the undergraduate degree, or at least entering into a later year of it, is possible. If I were you, I'd get in touch with some researchers in the field and explain your situation, asking for their advice.

 

Showing an interest and getting your name seen by important people is always a good idea. You might start with Hugh Herr at MIT.

Edited March 22, 2011 by Blahah

[No Subject]

Yeah, biomedical engineering as DrRocket suggested, or biomechatronics. Robotics would also be a good route as you will learn engineering, electrical engineering and computer science targeted towards robotic solutions.

 

from the Wikipedia page for biomechatronics:

"Biomechatronics is a rapidly growing field but as of now there are very few labs which conduct research. The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, University of California at Berkley, MIT, and University of Twente in the Netherlands are the researching leaders in biomechatronics. Three main areas are emphasized in the current research.

• Analyzing human motions, which are complex, to aid in the design of biomechatronic devices
• Studying how electronic devices can be interfaced with the nervous system.
• Testing the ways to use living muscle tissue as actuators for electronic devices"

Given that you already have electronics experience, and given your motivation, you might find that bypassing the undergraduate degree, or at least entering into a later year of it, is possible. If I were you, I'd get in touch with some researchers in the field and explain your situation, asking for their advice.

 

Showing an interest and getting your name seen by important people is always a good idea. You might start with Hugh Herr at MIT.

 

This looks like EXACTLY what I want to do. Wow that really fits it perfectly... The only problem is those are pretty prestigious schools. How hard would it be for someone of my background to get into a school like that? I do already have an associates in applied science of avionics from the college of the air force so I guess that might help. I will just have to start poking around. Thank you for your help guys!

[CaptainPanic]

This looks like EXACTLY what I want to do. Wow that really fits it perfectly... The only problem is those are pretty prestigious schools. How hard would it be for someone of my background to get into a school like that? I do already have an associates in applied science of avionics from the college of the air force so I guess that might help. I will just have to start poking around. Thank you for your help guys!

Dutch universities (i.e. Twente university) are generally not too hard to get into at the BSc level (which is where you probably have to start)... but I have no clue about the costs for an American. Probably still cheaper than most US universities. I'd definitely consider it.

 

There is a reasonable chance that they teach in English nowadays - especially the MSc part. You'd have to check that for yourself. They have an extensive English website.

[Blahah]

This looks like EXACTLY what I want to do. Wow that really fits it perfectly... The only problem is those are pretty prestigious schools. How hard would it be for someone of my background to get into a school like that? I do already have an associates in applied science of avionics from the college of the air force so I guess that might help. I will just have to start poking around. Thank you for your help guys!

 

Don't be put off by prestigious universities. Especially if you are looking to do postgraduate study instead of an undergraduate degree.

 

You should seriously consider two things:

• your avionics experience will definitely count for something, and references and test scores from your army days will be considered by any university
• prestige is about the quality of research, not how difficult it is to get in. It might also be difficult for most people to get in to those universities, but most people are close to average. If you're significantly more motivated and intelligent than most people, you don't need to use their standards. Screw the reputation, if you want to get in to one of those schools, do it.

You should contact the schools directly to talk about what routes you can take to get into the subject, how much your experience counts for, and whether you can go straight to postgraduate study or you have to take an undergrad degree (and if you have to take one, are there any parts you can skip).