Bioethics and the Biomedical Engineer

The last five decades have seen significant development in medical and biomedical technology and applications. The increase in research and development in fields such as biomechanics, biomaterials, cloning, tissue engineering, and medicine have spawned a whole new branch of philosophy aptly named bioethics. Bioethics, the study of the ethical and moral implications of biological research and biomedical advances, emerged in the early 1970s as its own discipline. As medical technology is improved and new developments made the influence of bioethics will place an ever increasing role on the research of scientists and engineers. It is extremely important that biomedical engineers on the frontline of cutting edge research be aware of the ethical dilemmas involved in their experimentation.
This paper has three objectives. The first is to briefly outline the development of bioethics as a field since the end of World War II. The second is a focus on the recent controversy seen with silicone breast implants where a lack of ethical measures in proper testing has caused harm to thousands of patients. Specific studies will be analyzed to determine the engineering aspects involved with testing and using the products and where a lack of ethics came into the process. Finally, this paper will discuss the responsibilities of the biomedical engineer to learn and practice bioethics in research and testing of new technology. The horrible experiments of the Third Reich during World War II serve as one of the most shocking examples of a lack of ethical research. During the war doctors in Nazi Germany conducted horrifying research from limb transplants to hypothermia tests on prisoners in their concentration camps. The lack of ethics in these experiments has far reaching implications within the world of biotechnology. During the Nuremburg Trials of 1948 new measures in medical research were developed because of the atrocities. The most important to our research was the

References: Ashcroft, R., & U. Schucklenk. International research ethics. Bioethics, 14:158-172, 2000. Badamo, D. J. Silicones for surgery. Rubber and Plastics Age, 45:796-798, 1964. Brennan, T. Bioethics and the theory of forms. International Journal of Biotechnology, 5:14-20, 2003. Dickenson, D., & G. Widdershoven. Ethical issues in limb transplants. Bioethics, 15:110-124, 2002. Gabriel, S., J. Woods, W. O’Fallon, C. Beard, L. Kurland, L. Melton. Complications leading to surgery after breast implantation. New England Journal of Medicine, 336:677-682, 1997. Halis, R. Bioethics for technology? Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 15:250-254, 2004. Kalra, J. Medical errors: overcoming the challenges. Clinical Biochemistry, 37:1063-1071, 2004. Macer, D. Perceptions of biotechnology and policy implications. International Journal of Biotechnology, 3:116-133, 2001. Simon, M. Silicone gel breast implant controversy: the science surrounding the regulation and litigation. Journal of Products and Toxics Liability, 17:141-144, 1995. Marotta, J., C. Widenhouse, M. Habal, E. Goldberg. Silicone gel breast implant failure and frequency of additional surgeries: analysis of 35 studies reporting examination of more than 8000 explants. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, 48:354-364, 1999.