Different departments at the Ecole Polytechnique are very active in biomedical research, both on fundamental aspects or on applied ones.

The topics covered are very broad, including :

Biomechanics

• Design, modeling and development of biomedical equipment for minimally invasive surgery (implantable pumps for drug delivery, laparoscopic tools for liver surgery, surgical station for endoscopic procedures)

• Design, modeling and development of orthopaedic devices, surgical planning, analysis of joint kinematics and kinetics during daily activities, development of patient specific musculoskeletal model.

Biomedical Instrumentation

• Development of an endoscopically implantable gastric electrostimulator

• Development of an implanted pacemaker enabling paraplegic patients to recover lost functionality

• Modeling of human organs and biomedical electronic instrumentation (cardiorespiratory monitoring, EEG, EMG, electrical stimulation)

• Monitoring and electrostimulation (EEG, EMG, ENG, etc.) for implanted and non-implanted devices

• Monitoring muscle relaxation with neuromuscular blocking agents

• Treatment of biomedical signals (speech signal, EEH and ECG signals)

Biomedical Imaging

• 2D and 3D analysis of cell behavior using videomicroscopy and image analysis

• Implementation of an image-guided liver surgery system

• Planning in radiation therapy assisted by tumor nuclear imaging

• Research and validation of histological and immunohistochemical biomarkers by image analysis

• Virtual Reality System to assist in the realization and evaluation of physical exercises

Others

• Study of the relationship between structure-activity in molecular biology and medicinal chemistry

• Study of the relationships between the sequence, structure and function of proteins

• Mathematical modeling of chemical and biological processes

The Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging (CMMI) within Biopark de Gosselies enriches the perspectives of biomedical research, as well as the realization of dissertations and doctoral theses for the students of the field. This center involves laboratories of UMons and ULB, including several laboratories of the Ecole polytechnique. Fully operational since November 2011, it offers an integrated, high-performance preclinical biomedical imaging platform, offering a wide range of modern instrumentation and methodologies, ranging from electron microscopy to in vivo imaging of small animals. For more information, see http://www.cmmi.be/.

A laboratory for research in gastroenterology and reserved for the engineers of the ULB is also present on the Erasme campus. This laboratory makes it possible to maintain close contact with the teams of gastroenterology.

Research laboratories in biomedical engineering at the Ecole polytechnique de Bruxelles